Informed consent for anaesthesia in Australia and New Zealand.

The legal and ethical requirements related to an anaesthetist's communication with patients in preparing them for anaesthesia, assisting them in making appropriate decisions and obtaining consent in a formal sense are complex. Doing these things well takes time, skill and sensitivity. The primary focus should be to adequately prepare patients for surgery and to ensure that they are sufficiently well informed to make the choices that best meet their own needs. This is just an affirmation of the importance of patient-centred care.