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Concept explainer

Consent documents

Explains how consent forms are captured, stored against the record and linked to the procedures and visits they cover.

A consent form is captured at the point of care, stored against the patient record, and linked to the procedure or visit it covers. This page follows a consent document from the moment a patient signs it to the moment a later reader relies on it.

A consent document is a completed consent form, held as a first-class entry on the patient record. It records what the patient agreed to, the moment they agreed, and the witness where one applies. Atlas holds two representations side by side: the sealed form as the patient signed it, and a structured consent record that access control reads.

Two representations, one act

The sealed form is the human-readable document a clinician opens. The structured consent record carries the same decision in fields that Cirith Manager reads when it decides a permission. Both are written from the one sign-off.

Consent forms are hospital-approved forms, designed in Glyph with a formal sign-off step. Capture runs at the desk or the bedside.

  1. 1

    Open the approved form

    Choose the consent form for the procedure or visit. Glyph holds the approved set, so staff pick the right form rather than compose one.

  2. 2

    Confirm the pre-filled details

    Assisted fill prepares a draft from details the record already holds. The patient and the clinician confirm each field before sign-off.

  3. 3

    Sign off

    The patient signs off. The form locks the moment it is finished, so the signed version stays exactly as it read at the time.

  4. 4

    Store against the record

    Atlas stores the sealed form and writes the structured consent record beside it, both attributed to the person who captured them.

A consent form attaches to the order for the procedure it covers, and to the visit it was taken for. The consent then sits beside the thing it authorises, so a clinician opening the order or the visit finds the consent in the same place.

Witnessed consent

Sensitive categories of consent carry a witness. The witness's name and their attestation are captured with the form, so the record shows who stood witness alongside the patient's own sign-off.

In force and withdrawal

A consent stays in force from sign-off until the patient withdraws it or its stated validity passes. Withdrawal is recorded on the same entry with the moment it happened, so the record carries both the original agreement and its withdrawal. A fresh agreement is a new entry, which keeps the full history legible.

Figure 1.Diagram showing a consent directive moving from in force to withdrawn or lapsed.

Consent is one of the two planes that open a record. Cirith Manager reads the categories the patient allowed and the validity of the consent at the moment it decides a permission, and combines that with the reader's role and their admission-based relationship to the patient. Consent alone, or a role alone, draws a partial picture; the two planes together decide what a reader may open.

categorycode

The kind of consent the patient gave.

validitydate

The date the consent stays in force to, where one is set.

witnessperson

The witness and attestation, captured for sensitive categories.

statusstate

In force or withdrawn, with a lapsed reading once the validity passes.

The patient carries their own view of these decisions too. Read what a patient controls at access directives.

Common questions

Does a withdrawn consent leave the record?

A withdrawn consent stays on the record, marked with the moment it was withdrawn. The history keeps both the agreement and its withdrawal.

Where is a consent form filled in?

In Glyph, using a hospital-approved consent form with a formal sign-off. The completed form lands against the record and locks.

What ties a consent to the procedure it covers?

The consent form attaches to the order for the procedure and to the visit, so it sits beside the care it authorises.

Read how a permission is decided from role, relationship and consent.