What Is Informed Consent?

When you have to get a medical procedure done, you would expect the doctor to speak with you about what to expect. This includes explaining to you the risks of the procedure. Most medical procedures come with some risk, even if it may be slight. Understanding what will happen to you is an important part of offering good medical care in Michigan. It also is essential to preventing medical malpractice.

Informed consent is when you understand a medical procedure and the risks associated with it before you give a medical professional the okay to do the procedure, according to Medical News Today. As the name suggests, giving your consent alone is not acceptable. You need to give that consent with the knowledge of what could happen.

If a doctor fails to get informed consent and something goes wrong, you would have the basis for a medical malpractice case. This includes if a known risk factor occurs but you were never told it was a risk of the procedure.

Hiding things from a patient is not good medical care. Without informed consent, doctors could sugarcoat every procedure and you would never be aware that some procedures could put you at risk of going into a coma, losing large amounts of blood or even dying.

Essentially, the idea of informed consent gives you rights. It makes sure that you know what you are up against when getting a procedure. It allows you to go into the process with your eyes wide open and with the awareness that something bad could happen. This information is for education and is not legal advice.