Ethical Assessment of Blank Consent Forms for Medical Interventions in a Training and Research Hospital in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: To assess ethical conformity of consent forms to the ethical standards used for medical interventions in a training and research hospital. Methods: In this study, the content of blank informed consent forms used for medical interventions in the hospital was categorized under standard topics by the researchers and was assessed according to an updated Turkish Regulation on Patients' Rights, Turkish Medical Association's Code of Medical Ethics, and Atesman's Readability Formula. Results: A total of 336 procedure-specific consent forms were used in the hospital. It was observed that the parts rated highest were the aim of the intervention (>67%), possible risks (>96%), and the name/surname and signature of the responsible physician (>94%) and the patient (>94%). All consent forms displayed difficult readability levels (>94%). There were some favorable topics, such as the right not to know (or not to be informed) of the patient, as well as the items that may lead to the breach of autonomy of the patient, such as the signature of personnel other than the physician. Conclusion: Updating the consent forms within the frame of items recommended in this paper will ease the arrangement of the content in accordance with ethical and legal standards.