The patient makes the final choice as to which medical act will be performed on him or her. Therefore, this decision by the patient must be an informed one, i.e. the patient must receive comprehensive information from the doctor about the chosen medical action. The moment the patient consents to an action, he or she bears the risk of the action, including the risk of adverse effects. In most Polish hospitals, the patient gives his/her consent for a medical act by signing a consent form. The consent form should be prepared in such a way that the patient can fully understand what the medical act consists of and the risks involved. In many Western countries, consent forms are audiovisual, so that the patient can see with his or her own eyes how the activity takes place.
The consent form should be a tool that prepares the patient for a conversation with the doctor. Only this conversation should be the basis for the patient's consent to a specific medical intervention. Some hospitals use so-called general consent forms on which the patient gives his or her consent to all medical interventions that will be performed at the facility by doctors and other medical staff. Such consent forms are often legally invalid because the patient, when giving his/her consent on them, does not have precise information about the activities that will be performed.