Informed Consent and Health: A Global Analysis

Informed consent is a core concept in health law. Complete information about a patient’s health status and the right to be informed about all relevant aspects of a proposed treatment is integral to a his or her ability to make an informed choice. Informed consent is the legal instrument that purports to protect an individual’s autonomy and defends against medical arbitrariness. Our understanding of informed consent continues to evolve; and, as a concept it is subject to diverse interpretations around the world. Informed consent faces several contemporary challenges which suggests that unresolved problems continue to hamper our understanding and implementation of the concept, both nationally and internationally. In this book, this fundamental right is examined from various comparative perspectives, including the benefits the concept’s evolution signals to patient rights and the challenges that continue to hinder both the patient and the medical community.