Which statement correctly differentiates competency from capacity?

Which statement correctly differentiates competency from capacity?

• A. Competency is medical; capacity is legal
• B. Competency is legal; capacity is medical
• C. They mean the same thing
• D. Capacity applies only to minors

Answer: (B)

The key distinction is that one type of judgment is clinical and task-specific, while the other is a formal legal determination. Capacity is a medical assessment of a patient’s ability to understand information, appreciate consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice for a specific medical decision. This is done by clinicians and can vary from one decision to another and over time. Competency, on the other hand, is a legal status determined by a court and applies to rights and acts with legal consequences, such as entering contracts, making a will, or consenting to treatment in certain contexts. In practice, a person may have capacity to consent to a particular medical procedure even if they are not legally competent in broader matters, and conversely, someone could be deemed legally competent while lacking capacity for more complex or different decisions in other domains. The exam’s correct contrast emphasizes that competency is legal, whereas capacity is medical.

The key distinction is that one type of judgment is clinical and task-specific, while the other is a formal legal determination. Capacity is a medical assessment of a patient’s ability to understand information, appreciate consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice for a specific medical decision. This is done by clinicians and can vary from one decision to another and over time. Competency, on the other hand, is a legal status determined by a court and applies to rights and acts with legal consequences, such as entering contracts, making a will, or consenting to treatment in certain contexts.

In practice, a person may have capacity to consent to a particular medical procedure even if they are not legally competent in broader matters, and conversely, someone could be deemed legally competent while lacking capacity for more complex or different decisions in other domains. The exam’s correct contrast emphasizes that competency is legal, whereas capacity is medical.