Informed consent - ethical and philosophical issues

Abstract

Informed consent is a relatively new concept in medicine. The term 'informed concept' first appeared in 1957, and serious discussion of the concept began only around 1972. The Hippocratic tradition does not mention a doctor's obligation to give information or to discuss the course of treatment with patients. The physician's main duty was to provide medial benefits to patients and to protect them from harm. Nothing in medial ethics has changed so dramatically and drastically in the last few decades as the standard of ethical conduct governing the relationship between doctors and patients. The culture of how health-care decisions should be made in medical practice has changed considerably as a result of the evolving concept of informed consent. The traditional doctor-patient relationship in decision-making was based on the principle of beneficence, namely 'doing good' for the patient. As a result of the paternalistic tendency among health-care professionals, the entire burden of deciding what treatment any patient in whatever condition should undergo was assumed by clinicians because only they had the necessary information and skill. They were considered as the experts who knew what was best for the patient! [Excerpt]