Comparative Study of Gap Analysis between Patient and Surgeon about Informed Consent to a Procedure

Informed consent is a process by which the patient is informed about medical/surgical procedure that is being carried out and empowering the patient to take a decision, after weighing the pros and cons. The last step in this process is recording of the consent document with signature. It is required for all surgical procedures especially in the current day practice. In surgical practice, respect for autonomy translates into duty to obtain informed consent before the surgery. Our study aims to understand the gaps between the surgeon and his/her patient relating to informed consent. A questionnaire study was conducted on doctors and patients to assess the understanding of informed consent form. Results revealed that understanding of informed consent was moderate and largely inadequate in certain areas.