prawa pacjenta

zgoda

zabieg operacyjny

prawo ochrony zdrowia

The right to express consent or refusal for a medical intervention is one of the basic rights of a patient. This results from such human rights as the right to self-determination and personal freedom. The consent to a medical procedure is especially important because, as a rule, it is associated with risk for a patient. The aware, informed consent of a patient for the performance of the procedure is the determinant of the observance of patient rights. The objective of the study was analysis of the knowledge of rights among hospitalized patients, the procedures of the acquisition of the patient’s informed consent for the medical intervention with increased risk, investigation of the type and amount of information passed on by physicians to patients before making a decision concerning consent for an intervention and, in consequence, evaluation of the application of legal regulations concerning consent for a surgical procedure. The study was conducted among 198 hospitalized patients, including 105 cardiology and 50 car-diosurgery patients. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire form designed by the author. The results of the study showed that the patients’ knowledge of patient rights is insufficient. The respondents’ main source of information concerning patient rights were the media, and not physicians and nurses. The information was passed to the patients before the procedure, and was often incomplete. Moreover, written consent for procedures and examinations with an increased risk was not demanded in every case, although this consent is required in the light legal regulations in effect. There is a need, especially on the part of the medical staff, for informing patients about their rights. In addition, it would be advisable to organize training courses for the staff, especially in the area of health care law, particularly of the scope of problems concerning patient rights.