Importance of Informed Consent in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to determine the experiences and opinions of physicians on informed consent practices, to research their awareness of their legal responsibilities, and to provide solutions to the problems encountered in practice. Methods: This research is a descriptive field study. One hundred and eighty-four physicians working in a state hospital in Istanbul participated in this study between January 15 and February 15, 2018. The questionnaire form was used as a data collection tool. After the participants were informed about the purpose and method of the research, their consent was obtained, and they were asked to fill in the questionnaire forms. The analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS 18.00 program. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: One hundred and eighty-four physicians working in a state hospital in Istanbul participated in this study. 69\% (n=127) of the physicians participating in the study were male and 31\% (n=57) were female. 35.3\% (n=65) of the participants were from the 3039 years old age group. 96.7\% (n=178) of the physicians in the study stated that they personally informed their patients before the surgical interventions. 83.7\% (n=154) of the physicians think that the lawsuits filed against the physicians due to medical malpractice affect the health services provided by the physicians to their patients.61.4\% of the participants (n=113) think that they have not received enough education in their medical education processes regarding the rights and obligations of the physicians. Conclusion: Considering the current situation in Turkey, the informed consent process is not yet at the level it should be. Since human rights are in the process of development in the world, informed consent and many more patient rights will gain importance with studies on this subject. Therefore, training, and studies should be increased to inform physicians and patients about informed consent and to make them a behavioral model physicians.