Key developments in case law: assessing competence in minors

Primary care is fundamentally about first-contact healthcare accessible to all. It is undifferentiated by age, gender or disease modality, and it is about the continuity of a clinical relationship over time, coordinated across sectors, and interventions that focus on both the individual and the wider population and community. Conveying relevant information about treatment and risk can be problematic, particularly in relation to minors, but it is nevertheless vital that health professionals promote autonomy in decision-making. This requires effective and sensitive communication, with consideration as to how information is framed and presented to patients and their families, as the communication process has a strong influence on how people understand, remember and evaluate information (Brown, 2006).