What is informed consent?

Did you know that all medical professionals are required to obtain your informed consent before you can be treated?

So, what is informed consent?

"Informed consent" simply means an individual or patient's consent whereby he or she agrees to allow medical treatment to be given based on full disclosure of all the necessary facts to arrive at a sound decision.

In order to give informed consent, the patient must know or understand what the proposed medical treatment requires.

The patient must be made to understand as regards the procedures that will be used, whether the doctor will be using drugs or surgery, what the alternatives are, and also the associated risks and side effects.

Whether or not the consent given by the patient was "informed consent" depends mainly on the analysis of all information available.

The patient must not only be informed about the procedure or the process but he or she must also have the capacity to understand the information to sufficiently weigh and consider this information.

If you believe that you have been a victim or doctor malpractice, or if you doubt whether you had actually given informed consent, or if you have questions about medical or doctor malpractice then it is best that you consult a medical lawyer or medical attorney as soon as possible.