Informed consent is an individual's voluntary agreement, based on adequate understanding of relevant facts, to permit some type of intervention by a second party. This term is most commonly used in medical contexts to refer to individuals' agreements to undergo medical treatment or to participate in research. In most cases, informed consent is required both ethically and legally prior to the commencement of treatment or enrollment in research.

Recent History

The ethical and legal mandate for informed consent as understood in the early twenty-first century was not established until the latter half of the twentieth century. Before that time, a paternalistic paradigm governed the relationship between patient and health care provider. However, driven by landmark cases, revelations of abuse, and a changing professional ethic, there has been a shift toward patient autonomy and away from physician paternalism. The establishment of a requirement for informed consent occurred...