How To Implement
According to WPATH, using an Informed Consent Model (ICM) is not necessarily in tension with the WPATH-SOC as these are “flexible clinical guidelines” suggested to reflect the client’s individual needs.1 According to the WPATH-SOC, regarding the relationship between the standards of care and Informed Consent Model protocols:
“A number of community health centers in the United States have developed protocols for providing hormone therapy based on an approach that has become known as the Informed Consent Model. These protocols are consistent with the guidelines presented in the WPATH-SOC, Version 7. The SOC are flexible clinical guidelines; they allow for tailoring of interventions to the needs of the individual receiving services and for tailoring of protocols to the approach and setting in which these services are provided.”
“Obtaining informed consent for hormone therapy [or for surgery] is an important task of providers to ensure that patients understand the psychological and physical benefits and risks of hormone therapy [or surgery], as well as its psychosocial implications. Providers prescribing the hormones or health professionals recommending the hormones [or surgery] should have the knowledge and experience to assess gender dysphoria. They should inform individuals of the particular benefits, limitations, and risks of hormones, given the patient’s age, previous experience with hormones, and concurrent physical or mental health concerns.”