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Why Is Informed Consent Important?

By: Arooj Fatima Posted on Mon, 04-01-2016

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Informed consent is the process by which doctors provide necessary medical information to their patients so that they can agree to or deny a treatment by will. It is a legal right of a patient to be in control of what happens to his/her body and the ethical duty of the doctor to give them what they want; nothing more, nothing less.

Good medical practice and informed consent go hand in hand. The absence of medical consent in any medical institution is wrong and destroys the trust between a patient and doctor. If you do some research, you will see that it is a central part of every successful medical organization.

Armenia has one of the best reputed hospitals and clinics around the world. You can learn about their process of informed consent with the help of Armenian Informed Consent Translation. Similarly, you can investigate the consent process of other developed countries with the help of professional Interpreting and Translation Services.

Elements of a Complete Informed Consent

  • Explanation of the treatment/operation including expected outcome
  • Total duration and cost
  • What will happen if the condition is not treated
  • Acceptable alternatives to the proposed procedure
  • Evaluation of associated risks, benefits, and uncertainties
  • Judgment of the patient’s perceptive
  • Approval by patient regarding the course of action

Modern medical practice is complicated; foundation for a healthy relationship between the doctor and patient depends upon mutual trust. Patients can be very ill-informed about their health; they often approach doctors with irrational demands and expectations. For that reason, it is essential to educate the patient about realistic standards and then obtain their informed consent for starting a treatment.

The concept of consent originates from basic human rights and ethical principles of healthcare. Every individual has absolute freedom to decide what is or is not to happen to his/her body and collect every bit of detail before going through with a procedure. Nobody can force a person to do something they don’t agree with; the doctor too can only give advice to help the patient in taking a decision.

This subject also has great legal importance as no one holds the right to even touch another person without his/her permission. Any medical act performed without the patient’s consent is characterized as “battery”; this equals physical assault and is strictly punishable by law.

The patient giving consent should be an adult (18 or above) and mentally stable. If the patient is a child or psychologically incompetent, his/her consent will be given by a parent or guardian. In emergency situations a doctor should take action to save the patient’s life, even if consent is absent. In case the patient does not survive but the doctor justified his part, then he/she will be protected by the law.

When giving informed consent to a foreign patient, make sure he/she entirely understands the context. You can use Armenian Informed Consent Translation for clients from Armenia if they do not identify with your language. Provide Interpreter Services in the interest of the patients so that they don’t press charges of fraud against you later on, due to any misconception.