Informed Consent of the Patient

Abstract

As a basic and general condition for the conclusion of the civil legal act, consent does not know a legal definition, this role being left to the doctrine. But the Romanian legislator dedicates a generous regulation to it in the Civil Code.  Thus, consent was defined as a person's manifestation of will to conclude or perform a legal act. To produce legal effects, the consent must be conscious, free, and untainted. Consent, as provided by art. 1240 of the Romanian Civil Code, can be expressed verbally, in writing or through a behaviour that, according to the law, the parties, established between them, that leaves no doubt about the intention to produce the corresponding legal effects. Referring to the medical act and to the need for a valid and informed consent of the patient, we can define this informed consent, as representing the informed consent of the patient in relation to the interventions/medical acts that can have unpredictable consequences. However, to make an informed decision, the patient must be fully informed about his state of health, about the proposed medical procedures, about the potential risks and benefits of each procedure, about alternatives to the proposed procedures, about the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the progress of the treatment. As a rule, obtaining consent is done only after the patient is informed according to his capacity to understand, clearly and with direct reference to the medical act to be performed, communicating any useful information to make a fully informed decision of cause.