Informed Consent
The process by which a clinician discloses sufficient information about a proposed treatment—including risks, benefits, and alternatives—to enable a client to voluntarily agree to or refuse it.
Full Definition
In behavioral health, informed consent has particular complexity because decisional capacity may be affected by the very conditions being treated. Valid informed consent requires three elements: disclosure of relevant information, client comprehension of that information, and voluntary decision-making free from coercion. Documentation of informed consent is a regulatory and ethical requirement that appears in admission packets, medication consent forms, research participation agreements, and release-of-information forms. Editors reviewing consent documents must verify that language is written at an accessible reading level and that all legally required elements are present. 'Informed consent' is always two words and should not be shortened to 'consent' where the full concept is intended.
Usage
Usage note: Two words, not hyphenated. Do not shorten to 'consent' in formal clinical or legal documents where the full informed-consent process is implied. Distinguish 'informed consent' from 'assent,' which applies when a client lacks full decision-making capacity.
In Context
- "The chart lacked documentation of informed consent for the new antipsychotic, which the auditor flagged as a compliance deficiency." — Compliance audit report
- "The consent form was revised to ensure that potential tardive dyskinesia risk was disclosed as part of the informed consent process." — Medication consent form revision