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Preview: ... nformed consent possible by providing patients with information to base their decision on (Faden, 1986, Qualls, 1999). <br> The number of articles related to informed consent increased in the medical and legal literature during the 1960's through<br> 1980's. In 1981, the Judicial Council of the AMA recognized informed consent. It said it was "a basic social policy necessary to enable patients to make their own choices, even if the physicians disagree (Beauchamp, 1997, p. 190). As time went on and more courts ruled in favor of patients, every case relied on previous judgments to show possible precedent. This produced relevant language that shaped the present day's informed consent laws. Some landmark cases also worth noting are Canterbury v. Spence, Cobbs v. Grant, and Wilkinson v. Vesy (Faden, 1986). <br>Ethics of Informed Consent<br> Throughout all mentioned cases, an ethical/moral sentiment was present. There is a moral responsibility on the part of the health care provider (physician) to recognize the autonomy of the patient. Informed consent respects a person's autonomy by giving them the freedom to choose. It respects a human's ability to exercise moral reasoning and to make moral choices (Kuther, 2003). Appelbaum (1987) writes, "the principles of autonomy primarily refer to the obligation of health-care professionals to respect the rights of patients to make their own decisions about their treatment the core of the idea of informed consent" (p.23). <br>Elements and Types of Informed Consent<br> In order for informed consent to be valid, the process must incorporate four basic elements (1) discloser of all relevant information about the medical treatment the patient will need to make an informed decision, (2) comprehension of the information provided (3) voluntariness, the patient must consent freely without pressure or force due to coercion (4) competence which relates to a persons ability to make decisions (Qualls, 1999). <br> Informed consent is either expressed or implied. Expressed consent is given either orally or in writing. Implied consent is either presumed or inferred. In an emergency consent is presumed under the theory that delaying care to obtain consent would result in serious harm or death. Inferred consent is based on a person's action and his/her willingness to be treated (Miller, 2000).<br>Consent of Minors<br>As noted in the introduction section of this paper, only parents or legal guardians can provide informed consent for minors to receive medical treatment. The law assumes adult parents competent, able to make decisions for them selves, and will act in the best interest of their child. In most states, there is a doctrine of in loco parentis, which allows persons designated by parents, as caregivers, to give interim emergency consent (Tillett, 2005). Parental or legal guardian consent is usually required for minors because "minors are viewed as incompetent decision makers and state legislation is designed to protect minors from the consequences of poor decision" (Kuther, 2003, p.345). In most cases, the law considers children incompetent and dependent regardless of their maturity until they reach legal age of majority. Note that informed consent is "usually" required for minors and in "most" cases minors are seen as incompetent, meaning that there are exceptions. These exceptions involve state mandates (pregnancy related care, testing and treatment of STD's, and drug/alcohol abuse services), contraceptive and abortion service ...
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