This is an article that talks about the real importance of Informed Consent (IC) in medical practice. This document has been increasingly used as a defensive practice, in order to provide evidence to the defense of any lawsuit of medical responsibility, thus distorting the original idea, which would be to respect patient autonomy and delimit medical liability. The document aims to show that the doctor complied with his duty to inform. Its great value lies in cases where there is a risk of irreversible damage to the patient. We conclude, however, that a well-documented chart, which includes the recording of information that was provided and the degree of participation of patients and their families in treatment decisions, should also have legal and ethical value similar to the IC's.
Consent forms; Liability, legal; Ethics, medical; General practice