Though it is common to see the terms "competent" or "incompetent" the medical record, these terms are often used incorrectly.
Physicians determine "decisional capacity;" only a judge determines "competence," which is a legal term.
This is a semantic distinction, but an important one.
Physicians should limit their notations to "decisional capacity" unless there has been a court ruling on the issue of competence.
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- Be sensitive to the difference between decisional capacity (medical) and competence (legal).
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