Law 41/2002, of November 14, the basic regulation of patient autonomy and rights and obligations regarding clinical information and documentation, defines informed consent in medicine as:
The free, voluntary and conscious consent of a patient, manifested in the full use of his or her faculties after receiving adequate information, for an action that affects his or her health to take place.
All actions in the field of healthcare require, in general, the prior consent of patients or users.
What is it for?
The main objective of informed consent is to ensure that decision-making regarding a patient’s health rests with them. At the same time, it has probative value in any claim regarding medical care.
Frequently asked questions about informed consent
Through consent, the medical professional informs the patient about the treatment to be perform, its risks, its benefits and possible alternatives. Based on this free telemarketing leads information, the patient will freely accept or reject the treatment.
For the patient to be truly inform, the consent must contain, at a minimum, the following points:
Consequences of the treatment or intervention.
Risks of treatment or intervention.
Risks relat to the patient’s circumstances.
Are there requirements for consent to be valid?
For inform consent to be legal, it must meet four requirements:
Information: The patient must have all the information about medical actions.
Comprehension: The patient must understand that information.
Capacity: The patient must have the ability to make decisions. If the person is incapacitat, liability depends on their
Voluntariness: The patient must decide freely, without pressure, manipulation, etc.
What information should informed medical consent contain
Furthermore, it must be deliver in sufficient time so that the patient can assimilate it calmly and clear their doubts except in emergency cases where time is key.
What should consent be like?
According to the law, consent must be in writing and signed by both the patient and the doctor in cases of surgical intervention, invasive diagnosis and treatment and in general any procedure that poses a risk or a doubtful result for the patient’s health. In other cases, consent can be verbal.
What legal effects does consent have?
For legal purposes, consent demonstrates that the patient was duly informed of the effects and possible risks of the treatment and agreed to undergo it. However, it does not exonerate the BO Leads medical professional in cases of malpractice.
How is informed consent stor?
It is stored in the patient’s clinical history and, therefore, the law establishes that it must be kept for at least fifteen years from the date of discharge of each care process.