Informed consent: evaluation of the information provided to elderly patients

The doctor-patient relationship has undergone important changes in recent years. In the new concept of health care, the individual has the right to take decisions and the right to self-determination is only meaningful if the person is appropriately informed, is free to make decisions without coercion and has the ability or "capacity" to make the decision. The aims of this study is to evaluate the information received by the patients and the immediate family's provided by health. A total of 200 randomly chosen patients (109 male and 91 female), were interviewed. The mean age was 74 years (range from 65 to 102 years). In addition, the family member most frequently accompanying the patient was asked their opinion. Our study, found that the information was mainly directed to the family member/companion and that the information offered to the elderly patient was generally scant and insufficient for any consent to be based thereon. We believe that more attention should be paid to the issue of obtaining informed consent in the elderly.