Abstract
This article is concerned with the concept of “informed consent” as applied both in biomedical research involving human subjects and in clinical medicine in general. The current crisis over the elaboration and interpretation of the concept will be examined, along with the broader question of whether “informed consent” is any longer meaningful or viable as a criterion for complex bioethical policy-making. Finally, I will attempt to sketch a prognosis for the concept in doctor-patient relations, even if it is only wishful thinking.
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The present paper is a substantially altered version of a lecture presented at the Second Cooperative Studies Symposium, U.S. Veterans Administration, 21 September, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois. The support of the VA Cooperative Studies Program and especially the encouragement of Yick-Kwong Chan, Ph.D., Chief of the CSP Coordinating Center, West Haven, Connecticut, is hereby gratefully acknowledged by the author, who assumes full responsibility for any errors herein.
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Buehler, D.A. Informed consent—Wishful thinking?. J Med Hum 4, 43–57 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01352273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01352273