Informed Consent — A Critical Part of Modern Medical Care

Abstract

Introduction: To assess the importance of informed consent- a critical Part of modern medical care. Methods & Materials: This study is a cross-sectional study using in depth interviews to assess the information given to patient and to assess how efficiently consent forms were filled preoperatively. The study was carried out in Dept. Of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from January to December 2022. All interviews were carried out in privacy and both patients and their relatives were assured of confidentiality. Results: Total 200 patients were interviewed to assess how much information was provided to them before undergoing the surgery. To put the data in quantifiable term a validated checklist was used when the patient mentioned that particular information was provided it was taken as a „Yes‟ response and if patient mentioned that particular information was not provided it was taken as a „No‟ response. The graph has been plotted using category of patients on X axis and average number of „Yes‟ responses in the checklist on Y axis. (a) Age of the patient. Patients age more than 60 years (n= 32) showed an average of 8 „Yes‟ responses and patients below 60 years of age (n= 168) had an average of 11. In the present study it was found that patients age less than 60 years were better informed. Conclusion: In general, all doctors are aware about the process and importance of consent taking but certain fine details such as what all components have to be informed to the patient have to be made clear. Such practices cannot be removed by introducing rules and regulation rather creating awareness of the necessity and legal implication of informed consent would improve the process of consent taking.