Abstract
This chapter explores the problem of healthcare harm and considers the safety potential of the informed consent process. It demonstrates that the law, ethics and practice of informed consent have taken a narrow view of safety, limiting it to disclosure of known complications based on generic risk assessments. A more comprehensive approach would be informed by a broader range of issues and adjust risks in relation to particular patients, practitioners, and places where care is delivered, drawing on all relevant evidence. This chapter considers these neglected safety dimensions of informed consent and explores whether the concept of ‘material risk’ could be developed to accommodate them. Whilst a more finely tuned approach to assessing material risk is attractive as a matter of principle, to what extent is this feasible in practice?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Research Handbook on Medical Consent |
| Editors | Louise Austin, Jose Miola |
| Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 25 Sept 2025 |
Research Groups and Themes
- Centre for Health, Law and Society
Keywords
- autonomy
- healthcare
- harm
- informed consent
- patient safety