BACKGROUND: "Consent is a process by which a patient is informed and becomes a participant in decisions regarding their medical management." It is argued, however, that providing a signature to a form adds little to the quality of this process. METHODS: Views regarding the consent ritual of nonselected patients undergoing endoscopy (cystoscopy or sigmoidoscopy) were prospectively studied together with those of the attending staff. Patient volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two groups and given verbal explanation before the procedure, either alone (group A) or with a request to sign a form in addition (group B). A standardized questionnaire regarding preferences then was applied. RESULTS: A total of 37 patients (22 men) were studied along with seven staff members. Most surveyed felt that signing a consent form helped to empower the patient (group A, 84%; group B, 83%; staff, 100%). Although the patients mainly believed that it functioned primarily to protect the hospital and doctor (group A, 89%; group B, 67%), only one patient (3% of total) felt that such a formality undermined the patient-doctor relationship. Most staff members favored signing a form (86%). The majority of patients either favored it (group A, 47%; group B, 78%) or expressed no strong preference (group A, 32%; group B, 11%). Interestingly, more women than men preferred signing (73 vs. 55%; p = 0.25), perhaps because more women believed that it functioned to preserve autonomy (93 vs. 77% of men). Age was no particular determinant of perspective. CONCLUSION: Although it may be viewed as primarily serving to protect the doctor and hospital, the formal process of signing written consent forms appeals to patients and staff.
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机译：背景：“同意是告知患者并成为其医疗管理决策参与者的过程。”但是，有人认为，为表单提供签名不会增加该过程的质量。方法：前瞻性研究了与未参加内镜检查（膀胱镜或乙状结肠镜检查）的患者的同意仪式有关的观点。将患者志愿者随机分配到两组中的一组，并在手术前进行口头解释，要么单独（A组），要么要求另外签署表格（B组）。然后应用关于偏好的标准化问卷。结果：总共对37名患者（22名男性）和7名工作人员进行了研究。大多数接受调查的人认为，签署同意书有助于增强患者的能力（A组，84％; B组，83％;员工，100％）。尽管患者主要认为其主要功能是保护医院和医生（A组，占89％; B组，占67％），但只有一名患者（占总数的3％）感到这种形式破坏了医患关系。大多数工作人员都喜欢签署表格（86％）。大多数患者要么偏爱它（A组，47％; B组，78％），要么没有强烈的偏好（A组，32％; B组，11％）。有趣的是，更多的女性比男性更喜欢签名（73 vs. 55％; p = 0.25），这可能是因为更多的女性相信签名可以保持自治（93 vs. 77％的男性）。年龄不是观点的特别决定因素。结论：尽管它可能被认为主要是为了保护医生和医院，但是签署书面同意书的正式过程吸引了患者和医护人员。
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