Informed Consent in Healthcare

Informed consent is a process which a healthcare provider educates a patient about the risks,
benefits, and alternatives of a given procedure or intervention. The required elements for
documentation of the informed consent discussion are : (1) the procedure, (2) the risks and
benefits and the procedure, (3) reasonable alternatives, (4) risks and benefits of alternatives, and
(5) assessment of the patient's understanding of elements 1 through 4.
It is the obligation of the provider to make it clear that the patient is participating in the decision-
making process and avoid making the patient feel forced to agree to with the provider. The main
purpose of the informed consent process is to protect the patient. A consent form is a legal
document that ensures an ongoing communication process between patient and health care
provider.
Informed consent is required for many aspects of health care, these include consent for : some
treatments, specific procedures, most surgeries, blood transfusions, anesthesia, radiation and
some blood tests . An informed consent agreement should include the following components:
patient’s ID, diagnosis, name and purpose of treatment , a statement of understanding about the
benefits, risks, and alternative procedures, sign.
Patient can agree to all of the recommendations from healthcare provider, or only some of it.
Before the procedure, patients have to complete and sign a consent form. Signing the document
make this form is a legal document that shows participation in the decision and agreement to
have the procedure done. Signing the form means you received all the relevant information about
your procedure from your healthcare provider, you understand this information, you used this
information to determine whether or not you want the procedure.

Answer these Questions!

1. What is the purpose of informed consent?

2. There are 3 major information the healtcare provider educates to patient. What are the
information about?
3. What types of procedures need informed consent?
4. What components should include in an informed consent form?
5. Why do we need to sign a consent form?