informed consent
/ɪnˈfɔːrmd kənˈsɛnt/ · in·formed con·sent
noun
- A process by which a person voluntarily agrees to a medical procedure or participation in research after being fully apprised of the relevant facts, risks, benefits, and alternatives. The surgeon explained the operation in detail, and the patient signed the form as proof of informed consent.
- The documented evidence that such a voluntary agreement has been obtained. The hospital kept a copy of the patient's informed consent in the medical record.
Synonyms
voluntary agreementknowledgeable assentauthorized permissionexplicit approvalaware agreementqualified consentdocumented permissioneducated consent
Antonyms
Did you know? The modern doctrine of informed consent was solidified in the 1970s after the U.S. National Research Act, but its roots trace back to the 1947 Nuremberg Code, which demanded voluntary participation in human experiments.