informed consent

noun

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of informed consent

: consent to surgery by a patient or to participation in a medical experiment by a subject after achieving an understanding of what is involved

See informed consent defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of informed consent from the Web

Many patients are not told of the risk of POCD during the process of informed consent.

— judith graham, chicagotribune.com, "Surgery causes cognitive losses in some seniors," 22 May 2018
This clinical trial will provide more data on safety and efficacy, and will be done under informed consent using good clinical practices.

— dina fine maron, Scientific American, "Everything You Need to Know about the Ebola Vaccine," 17 May 2018
As part of educating people about what’s at stake, the NIH will require volunteers to read and approve informed consent documents that specify how a test and survey will be conducted and how the data will be used.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "NIH begins enrolling volunteers in historic study of how and why people get sick," 5 May 2018
The petition filed against Baldwin on Nov. 21 accuses her of violating requirements that lawyers do not disclose information about clients without their informed consent and other allegations.

— Washington Post, "Lawyers accused of ethical lapses in Sandusky investigation," 25 Mar. 2018
Monger also said the federal government recently enacted similar informed consent rules that will be better suited to the goal of reducing improper anti-psychotic use.

— kelsey ryan and andy marso, kansascity, "Over-sedation a crisis at nursing homes. Kansas legislation won't help, groups say | The Kansas City Star," 20 Mar. 2018
The House version also requires that patients get the same informed consent details about the drug as a patient who's already undergoing clinical trials.

— deirdre walsh, CNN, "'Right to Try' bill for terminally ill patients fails in the House," 13 Mar. 2018
Erkelens has hired a lawyer and is suing Rational Vaccines in state court for negligence and lack of informed consent.

— amanda schaffer, WIRED, "The Dying Scientist and His Rogue Vaccine Trial," 1 May 2018
Currently, most patients are not told of the post-surgical risk of POCD during the process of informed consent.

— judith graham, Washington Post, "What We Know And Don’t Know About Memory Loss After Surgery," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'informed consent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of informed consent

1957

in the meaning defined above

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INFORMED CONSENT Defined for English Language Learners

informed consent

noun

Definition of informed consent for English Language Learners

medical : a formal agreement that a patient signs to give permission for a medical procedure (such as surgery) after having been told about the risks, benefits, etc.

Medical Dictionary

informed consent

noun in·formed consent \ in-ˌfȯrmd- \

medical Definition of informed consent

: consent to surgery by a patient or to participation in a medical experiment by a subject after achieving an understanding of what is involved

Law Dictionary

informed consent

noun

legal Definition of informed consent

: consent to medical treatment by a patient or to participation in a medical experiment by a subject after achieving an understanding of what is involved and especially of the risks