Reconceptualizing the Informed Consent Process at Eight Innovative Hospitals

摘要

Ethically, informed consent derives from the princi-ple of autonomy and has been defined as the "will-ing and uncoerced acceptance of a medical intervention by a patient after adequate disclosure. . .of the nature of the intervention, its risks and benefits, as well as of alternatives with their risks and benefits. Legally, the doctrine of informed consent dictates that patients have the right to participate in decisions about their own care. Although the exact nature and amount of information that must be disclosed to achieve fully informed consent remains an issue of debate, it is general-ly accepted in both ethics and the law that "the patient's right of self decision shapes the boundaries of the duty to reveal.