Medicolegal Importance of Consent in Medical Practice: A Study in Tertiary Medical Centre of Barabanki U.P. Singh Amit Kumar1,*, Singh Anju2, Singh DK3 1Assistant Professor, Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki, Lucknow, U.P 2Professor, Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki, Lucknow, U.P 3Associate Professor, Dept. of Pathology, Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki, Lucknow, U.P *Corresponding Author: Dr Amit Kumar Singh, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki, 225001, Lucknow, U.P, Email: doctoramit03@yahoo.co.in, Mobile no. 9455125376.
Online published on 7 May, 2019. Abstract Introduction The Term consent means voluntary agreement, compliance or permission. section 13 of the Indian Contract Act lays down that two or more persons are said to consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense(meeting of the minds). From the times immemorial, medical practitioners played paternalistic role and were trusted with the responsibility of deciding the best treatment for their patients. With time, doctor patient relationship has changed from paternalistic to service provider and consumer type relationship. Patient being the consumer of services provided by the medical practitioner, have the right to full information concerning their diagnosis, treatment options, prognosis and possible complication. Informed Consent is the back of Patient's Autonomy. The advancement in medical technology has further increased its importance. In the developing countries including India, general physicians play a vital role in providing health care to the patients but unfortunately majority of them are unaware about the ethical aspects of Medical Practice. Method Objective: To determine the level of awareness about consent among faculty members in Tertiary Medical centre of Barabanki U.P. Period of study 2Month. Material and method A questionaire exploring the awareness about consent was offered to the faculty member of MIMS, Barabanki U.P. Results The survey revealed that 12 questionaire were given to RMP of MIMS, out of 12 questions in 7 questions more than 50% of RMP were aware of correct response and in 5 questions more than 50% of RMP were unaware of requirement/procedure obtaining consent in various clinical situations. Conclusions They were aware of only those situations which are discussed and debated at various forums. Top Keywords Consent, Patient autonomy, Medical negligence. Top |