Study of legal framework of involvement of nurses in the process of patient’s informed consent in the republic of Bulgaria and other countries

Introduction: Essential in providing medical assistance to patients is achieving clarity and legal certainty in the work of medical professionals. To this end, a clear and uniform approach in regulation of involvement of nurses in the process of patient’s informed consent, which is currently lacking in the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria, is to be adopted. Objective: To examine the legal framework of the involvement of nurses in the process of patients’ informed consent in the Republic of Bulgaria and other countries. Materials and methods: We have applied a documentary method. A comparative legal analysis of the legislation on the involvement of nurses in the process of patients’ informed consent in the Republic of Bulgaria and other countries within the period January 2014 – May 2015 has been made. Deliverables: Based on the comparative legal analysis of the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria and the countries studied, it was found that there is no single approach to the regulations of the involvement of nurses in the process of patients’ informed consent in the country unlike the laws of other countries where it is clearly and systematically arranged. Discussion: In the laws that have been reviewed the liability to inform patients lies on all health professionals. According to the analyzed legal definitions in the legal sources compared, a nurse is a health professional and as such, she has certain obligations in the process of informed consent of patients. Conclusion: It is necessary the current Bulgarian legislation on the involvement of nurses in the process of patients’ informed consent to be further developed and refined taking into account the experience of other countries.