Final answer:
The Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) provides regulations on when consent is necessary for treatment or admission to a care facility and who may give consent on behalf of an incapable client. It ensures that consent is obtained in a manner that respects the patient's best interests while upholding autonomy and beneficence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The act that sets out explicit rules on when consent is required for treatment or admission to a care facility, and who can give consent when the client is incapable of doing so, is the Health Care Consent Act (HCCA). This act provides a framework for consent that must be followed in healthcare settings. It addresses situations when individuals are not capable of giving consent on their own behalf due to various reasons such as mental incapacitation or being minors. In these cases, a substitute decision-maker, often a family member or legally appointed guardian, may give consent. It is distinct from other legislative acts such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects patient information and privacy, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life.
The principle of autonomy is a foundational ethical concern addressed in these situations, ensuring that individuals have the right to make informed decisions regarding their own health care. Yet, when a person is unable to autonomously provide consent, the HCCA guides who has the authority to do so on their behalf to maintain the patient's best interests and uphold the principle of beneficence, which emphasizes acting for the good of others.