[Informed Consent: an Update].

An indication for a medical intervention alone is not sufficient to justify its implementation. In addition, consent has to be obtained from the patient who has been given relevant information by a doctor. If, instead of the patient, other persons are entitled to decide for him (parents for children incapable of consent, authorised representatives, carers), they must be informed.

[Patient safety -- mission for the future: Managing complications: what do I tell to the patients and what to the relatives?].

In cases of unintended treatment courses an adequate communication is mandatory. Empathetic conversations expressing human warmth can pave the way to the avoidance of forensic consequences. The laws on patient's rights obligate the responsible physician to inform on request the patient about all recognizable circumstances that may lead to the assumption of a treatment error and to avoid hazards to health.