engleski

Is there a need to improve informed consent procedures in Croatia - a pilot field survey on a representative sample, a food for thought?

Background: Informed consent if obtained properly can bring additional value to physician-patient relationship and in many cases to the patient safety. The previous research done in Croatia shows the formality of the process of informed consent which often lacks quality and substances with presence of the poor knowledge of patients’ rights. Therefore the authors sought to elucidate the main issues related to the experience and assess the knowledge of general patient population (citizens of Croatia) about informed consent after several years of application of the Act on Protection of Patients’ Right. Methods: Shourt survey was conducted using an independently created questionnaire on nationally representative sample, of 1023 adult subjects, divided into two groups: those who had been and had been not in hospital for treatment in the past 5 years. Results: 60% of the respondents had only partial knowledge on patients’ rights. The level of knowledge about informed consent was average but not in depth. 25% of the respondents stated that they have received complete information during informed consent procedure, and graded the level of the received information as high in 9% of the cases. 15% of respondents could not remember whether they have signed informed consent form. Conclusion: There is a need for improvement of the informed consent preocedures and for further research in the issues surrounding the practice of informed consent in Croatia especially in the areas of quality and comprehension of the information, as well as physician-patient decision-making process and education of physicians and general public.

Informed consent ; patients' rights ; Croatia ; survey ; knowledge ; experience

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