Alasdair Maclean analyses the ethical basis for consent to medical treatment, providing both an extensive reconsideration of the ethical issues and a detailed examination of English law. Importantly, the analysis is given a context by situating consent at the centre of the healthcare professional-patient relationship. This allows the development of a relational model that balances the agency of the two parties with their obligations that arise from that relationship. That relational model is then used to critique the current legal regulation of consent. To conclude, Alasdair Maclean considers the future development of the law and contrasts the model of relational consent with Neil Manson and Onora O'Neill's recent proposal for a model of genuine consent.

Substantial efforts have recently been made to reform the physician-patient relationship, particularly toward replacing the `silent world of doctor and patient' with informed patient participation in medical decision-making. This 'new ethos of patient autonomy' has especially insisted on the routine provision of informed consent for all medical interventions. Stronly supported by most bioethicists and the law, as well as more popular writings and expectations, it still seems clear that informed consent has, at best, been received in a lukewarm fashion by most clinicians, many simply rejecting what they commonly refer to as the `myth of informed consent'. The purpose of this book is to defuse this seemingly intractable controversy by offering an efficient and effective operational model of informed consent. This goal is pursued first by reviewing and evaluating, in detail, the agendas, arguments, and supporting materials of its proponents and detractors. A comprehensive review of empirical studies of informed consent is provided, as well as a detailed reflection on the common clinician experience with attempts at informed consent and the exercise of autonomy by patients. In the end, informed consent is recast as a management tool for pursuing clinically and ethically important goods and values that any clinician should see as meriting pursuit. Concurrently, the model incorporates a flexible, anticipatory approach that recognizes that no static, generic ritual can legitimately pursue the quite variable goods and values that may be at stake with different patients in different situations. Finally, efficiency of provision is addressed by not pursuing the unattainable and ancillary. Throughout, the traditional principle of beneficence is appealed to toward articulating an operational model of informed consent as an intervention that is likely to change outcomes at the bedside for the better.

A timely, authoritative discussion of an important clincial topic, this useful book outlines the history, function, nature and requirements of informed consent, focusing on patient autonomy as central to the concept. Primarily a philosophical analysis, the book also covers legal aspects, with chapters on disclosure, comprehension, and competence.

Wear develops an efficient and flexible model of informed consent that accommodates both clinical realities and legal and ethical imperatives. In this second edition, he has expanded his examination of the larger process within which informed consent takes place and his discussion of the clinician's need for a wide range of discretion.

The notion that consent based on the concept of autonomy, underpins a good or beneficent medical intervention is deeply rooted in the jurisprudence of most countries throughout the world. Autonomy, Consent and the Law examines these notions in the UK, Australia and the US, and critiques the way in which autonomy and consent are treated in bioethics and law.

Informed consent - as an ethical ideal and legal doctrine - has been the source of much concern to clinicians. Drawing on a diverse set of backgrounds and two decades of research in clinical settings, the authors - a lawyer, a physician, a social scientist, and a philosopher - help clinicians understand and cope with their legal obligations and show how the proper handling of informed consent can improve , rather than impede, patient care. Following a concise review of the ethical and legal foundations of informed consent, they provide detailed, practical suggestions for incorporating informed consent into clinical practice. This completely revised and updated edition discusses how to handle informed consent in all phases of the doctor-patient relationship, use of consent forms, patients' refusals of treatment, and consent to research. It comments on recent laws and national policy, and addresses cutting edge issues, such as fulfilling physician obligations under managed care. This clear and succinct book contains a wealth of information that will not only help clinicians meet the legal requirements of informed consent and understand its ethical underpinnings, but also enhance their ability to deal with their patients more effectively. It will be of value to all those working in areas where issues of informed consent are likely to arise, including medicine, biomedical research, mental health care, nursing, dentistry, biomedical ethics, and law.

Alasdair Maclean examines the ethical basis for consent to medical treatment and offers proposals for reform.