[Informed consent is for whom?]

Evaluating the degree of knowledge about informed consent in patients agreeing to elective general surgery (by signing the aforementioned informed consent form) in the operating rooms of the San Jorge teaching hospital in Pereira.

Two measurement instruments were used with 59 patients prior to their undergoing surgery in the operating theatres of the San Jorge teaching hospital in Pereira, after having signing an informed consent form.

Test application to the study population revealed a high rate of reproducibility and predictive validity. One in every two patients (50%) had deficient or insufficient information in terms of their knowledge about the informed consent form (no evidence was found of association with the sociodemographic variables being studied).

Mechanisms must be established for effective communication with patients so that the simple mechanical act of obtaining a signature on an informed consent becomes more meaningful.