Physicians, too, have several concerns regarding the informed consent process. “What we hear from physicians is they want access to the forms. Physicians want the information at their fingertips without having to ask other people to go around and look for it. And they want to know before they start a procedure if this information [a signed consent form] is in the [patient’s] chart or not,” says Sam Rubinsztain, vice president of product development at gMED (General Medical Applications).
http://www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/ftr_07092007p18.shtm...

The case law and rules pertaining to informed consent have changed over the years and all 50 states now have legislation that requires some level of informed consent.
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Several of the common elements required for full disclosure have been summarized by the American Medical Association (Table 1) and other groups representing specialists or quality assurance organizations. [AMA 1998] For example, federal regulations spell out the minimum requirements for a properly executed informed consent form (Table 2) and state that this form must be in the patient’s chart before surgery.
http://www.templehealth.org/ICTOOLKIT/html/ictoolkitpage5.ht...


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Note added at 5 days (2015-05-06 11:05:51 GMT) Post-grading
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And see f.i. also http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/hsc__sqsd__35-07_regional_consent... Here Consent form is in the patient’s chart is listed as one of the quality indicators that were examined in consent audits conducted by Health and Social Services Trusts in Northern Ireland (p. 21).