EVALUATING DECISIONS IN MENTAL-CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS

One hundred and eleven capacity assessments are described where three criteria to assess the ability to make decisions were investigated. Th ese were ability to identify decision options, the ability to understa nd the consequences of decisions and the ability to implement decision s. The effectiveness of these criteria in differentiating capable/inca pable patients supports the idea of decision-making capacity or decisi on-specific capacity. The criteria applied, nevertheless, are not suff icient in all cases to determine capacity.