Professional-patient relationships and informed consent

Abstract

Four theoretical ethical perspectives on professional-patient relationships—autonomy, justice, virtue ethics, and the ethic of care—are surveyed, and some of their implications for the informed consent requirement in health care are sketched out. The practical issues of competence to consent, adequate information, and voluntariness are reviewed, and examples are given of the ways in which the theoretical perspectives outlined earlier might inform practice in areas such as these. Finally, the situation of patients not competent to consent is considered in the light of the same theoretical perspectives.

Consent: Its Practices and Implications in United Kingdom and United States Chiropractic Practice

“…Informed consent is a prime example and is widely assumed central to the doctor/patient relationship and ethical health care. 1,2 The obtaining of informed consent before the administration of any intervention is a requirement of all medical codes of ethical conduct. Measures put in place to do this facilitate patients with independent decision-making but also guard the patient against possible harm and encourage health care providers to act dutifully and conscientiously toward their patients.…”

An audit of consenting practices in a district general hospital. Can we improve?

“…Although the historical evidence is somewhat ambiguous, informed consent in the sense in which it is understood and practiced today appears to be a relatively recent arrival in medical ethics (1). Consent has been an important area of clinical surgery since the early 20 th century, with shift in attitude of clinical practice from an authoritative role of the physician or surgeon to a patient centred approach.…”

“…Although the historical evidence is ambiguous, informed consent in the sense in which it is understood and practised in the modern clinical setting appears to be relatively recent in medical ethics (1). Currently, a model of mutual participation based on patient education level and involvement is widely employed.…”

Patient or physician safety? Physicians' views of informed consent and nurses' roles in an Indonesian setting

“…Patients are assumed to make a voluntary decision about their medical treatment after receiving adequate information from the health providers (Messer, 2004;Whitney, McGuire, & McCullough, 2004) concerning the nature of the treatment, its purpose, linked processes, possible risk of complications, treatment alternatives and prognosis (Messer, 2004;Sims, 2008).…”