A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF PATIENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE INFORMED CONSENT DOCTRINE: ETHICAL AND LEGAL REFLECTIONS

Abstract

Informed consent is an ethical and legal doctrine of patients’ right of acquiescence to treatment and the disclosure of adequate information by the physician to facilitate patients’ medical decisions. The doctrine seeks to expand the scope of potential legal liabilities of medical practitioners and to promote patients’ rights to medical care. A breach of the informed consent doctrine could be actionable in battery or assault when there is bodily trespass without consent and the tort of clinical negligence when there are inadequate disclosures. This article is a desk-top systematic review of primary data from seven independent empirical studies on informed consent from the perspective of the patient in five common law African countries. The publications which were purposively searched and extracted from Google Scholar reveal that though majority of patients (at least 79 percent) granted consent for treatment, there was insufficient disclosure of material complications or risks, treatment alternatives or the right of patients to refuse medical treatment if they so wished. Disclosures on material risks were as low as 21.2 percent of patients. The physician’s competence in providing adequate information disclosure, demands continual medical training in the practice of the informed consent doctrine. The application of communication strategies that could enhance patients’ capacity to understand the informed consent process is recommended. Additionally, clear guidelines from relevant regulatory bodies are recommended to promote patient rights to informed consent and to protect medical practitioners from potential legal liabilities.