title: Consent and the Indian medical practitioner.
abstract: Consent is a legal requirement of medical practice and not a procedural formality. Getting a mere signature on a form is no consent. If a patient is rushed into signing consent, without giving sufficient information, the consent may be invalid, despite the signature. Often medical professionals either ignore or are ignorant of the requirements of a valid consent and its legal implications. Instances where either consent was not taken or when an invalid consent was obtained have been a subject matter of judicial scrutiny in several medical malpractice cases. This article highlights the essential principles of consent and the Indian law related to it along with some citations, so that medical practitioners are not only able to safeguard themselves against litigations and unnecessary harassment but can act rightfully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Parul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mullick
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Practicing Advocate, Rohini District Court, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Aseem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bharadwaj
keywords: Doctor-patient relationship; Indian law; informed consent