Consent is defined as the “voluntary agreement to or acquiescence in what another person proposes or desires”. In the context of medical practice it is now universally accepted that every human being of adult years and of sound mind has the right to determine what shall be done with his or her own body. Informed consent is now a central part of medical ethics and medical law. There has been a change in the public’s expectations of their role in medical decision making. The paternalistic approach by doctors is no longer acceptable. Today the patient has the right to receive and the doctor the obligation to give sufficient and appropriate information so that the patient can make an informed decision to accept or refuse a treatment option. This has led to higher standards of practice in the process of informed consent taking. Consent taking is both a legal and moral requirement. Failure to comply with standards of practice can result in criminal prosecution, civil litigation or disciplinary action by the relevant professional authority. Consent taking is a process and not merely a one-off affixation of the patient’s signature on a consent form. It involves a continuous discussion to reflect the evolving nature of treatment from before the treatment is given to the post-operative or discharge period. The regulatory authorities in many countries have established standards for consent taking which would include the capacity of the patient, the person who should seek consent, the information to be provided and the necessary documentation.
Informed Consent

No abstract available.
Informed Consent* ; Malpractice*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Informed Consent

Humans ; Informed Consent

We examined the causes of delaying or cancellation of the elective surgery at Seoul National University Children's Hospital. The total numbers of pediatric patient for the elective surgery during September 1, 1994, to November 30, 1994, were 1287 and that of delaying or cancellation of surgery were 135. The fraction of medical causes of delaying of the elective surgery was 62.2%, and that of non-medical causes of the elective surgery was 36.3%, and 1.5% was unknown. The single most frequent cause was upper respiratory infection, 42.2% of total delays, and the second was that patient had not be admitted as 16.3%o of total delays. The third frequent cause was no indication for surgery as 6.7%, the fourths were fever and inadequate preparation for surgery (5.2%), and the sixth was that the patient had refused to give an informed consent (3.7%), etc.
Fever ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Seoul

This paper covered a variety of issues that fall under the general rubric of ethical considerations in clinical psychopharmacologic research. The topics of ethical of subject selection and confidentiality, medication-free research. informed consent for those humans exposed to psychotropic drug research, and possible conflicts of interest in medical researcher/pharmaceutical sponsor were reviewed. Beginning with a brief section on the justifications for engaging in research, this review indentified the codflicts that inevitably arise between society's need for reliable and valid research and our obligation to protect subjects. Also author reviewed the patient consent issues, including the essential elements of informed consent, populations requiring surrogate consent, and confidentiality requirements. The paper continued with a discussion of responsible research practices, including the medication-free research, and conflicts of relationship between researcher and sponsor. In spite of a number of ethical dilemmas in clinical trials, the willingness of the scientist to confront the ambiguities of ethical questions in the pursuit of scientific knowledge reveals a basic truth, that is, the ethical characteristics of the scientist who undertakes such a task. Although it would be impossible to assure the general population that all researchers are ethical, it is incumbent on us to educate future researchers and provide practical guidelines for maintaining the primary ethical values of the individual who performs research with humans.
Confidentiality ; Ethics* ; Humans ; Informed Consent

PURPOSE: This study identifies best practices for informed consent for emergent computed tomography (CT) scans and development of a new document used to explain the informed consent using an iPad in an emergency department (ED). METHODS: Literature review, semi-structured interviews, and observations of informed consent were used for development of a new process for informed consent. Participants were ED physicians, residents, and senior nurses. Interviews were conducted for identification of agreed best practice and to derive new structural documents for classification of the information into relevant sections. RESULTS: Interviews identified a variety of perceived current deficits in informed consent, including difficult contents and missing explanation of the possible adverse events, such as radiation hazards. Participants provided examples of poor informed consent that were thought to have led to patient dissatisfaction; these included delay for patients who do not agree to undergo CT scan due to brief or inaccurate explanation. The interviewers' responses were used to reach a unifying 'best practice' for the content of informed consent. Their opinions were also used in implementation of a new tool for informed consent using the iPad. CONCLUSION: A new informed consent was developed using an iPad in order to provide a more efficient and organized template, which includes visual information necessary to facilitate understanding. Additional video clips were also developed in order to provide adjuvant materials for detailed explanations.
Consent Forms ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Meralgia Paresthetica is an uncommon and rare entrapment neuropathy involving the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve of the thigh. A lateral femoral cutaneous block has been used in order to alleviate pain and paresthesia in the affected area, but this procedure seems likely to be invasive or involve side effects. We performed a polarized light irradiation (SUPER LIZER HA-550(R), Tokyo Iken Co., Ltd, Japan) for a patient with Meralgia Paresthetica after the patient gave her informed consent. An entry was chosen 2.5 cm below and medial to the anterior superior iliac spine, and irradiation was applied with a cycle of 1 second on and 3 seconds off at 80% output for 8 minutes with 1200 mW output using a type-B probe a sum of eight times. Consequently, mild or moderate pain alleviation was obtained. When compared to pre-irradiation, the patient's symptoms were alleviated and satisfaction was high.
Humans ; Informed Consent ; Paresthesia ; Spine ; Thigh

BACKGROUND: A successful cord blood (CB) bank requires long-term storage of a large number of CB units with good quality. To provide an optimal storage condition and to solve issues of space, many techniques have been developed to remove the plasma and RBC with maintenance of the quality and cell dose. We compared the results of the use of two different automated systems with the hydroxyethyl starch (HES) sedimentation method used in routine manual processing. METHODS: A total of 38 donated CB units with informed consent (18 June 2007~16 July 2007) were randomly selected and enrolled. We performed volume reduction of 20 units with the Sepax(R) S-100 (Sepax), 18 units with the AXP(TM) AutoXpress Platform (AXP), and compared the levels of nucleated cell recoveries, viability, and CD34+ cell/total nucleated cells (TNC) with the levels of 20 units processed using the HES method in the same period. The correlations of the initial TNC with cell recoveries were also evaluated. RESULTS: The mean values of the TNC recoveries, viabilities, and CD34+ cell/TNC among the three methods were similar (P=0.75; P=0.13; P=0.75). However, the MNC recovery was significantly higher with the use of the AXP system (89.2%, P<0.001) than the other methods. The Sepax system also showed a reduced SD for TNC recovery. Moreover, cell recovery rates were independent of the initial TNC counts. CONCLUSION: The Sepax and AXP automated cord blood process systems allow similar cell recoveries and viability as compared with the HES method. With the results of this study, a cord blood bank may be able to use an automated system considering the facility, personnel and the workload.
Fetal Blood* ; Informed Consent ; Plasma ; Starch

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to describe our group counseling methods for medical students with drop-out experiences. METHODS: Group counseling was offered to 11 medical students with drop-out experiences in their previous second semester. All subjects provided written informed consent before participating and completed a 2-day group counseling program using the Gestalt approach. The self-assertiveness training group counseling program consisted of 6 sessions, each of which lasted 90 minutes. Experience reports by participants after the program and data from semi-structured qualitative interviews were qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS: Program participants reported that they were moderately satisfied with the program regarding its usefulness and helpfulness on self-awareness, understanding, and reminding them of attempts to change behavior. Most students showed heightened levels of sincerity perceptions and positive attitudes in every session. The results demonstrated significant changes in experience in self-esteem, self-recognition, and interpersonal relationships. CONCLUSION: A group counseling program using the Gestalt approach could help medical students with drop-out experiences to adjust with 1 year their juniors, enhance their self-esteem, contribute to their psychological well-being, and prevent student re-failure through effective stress management and improved interpersonal relationships.
Counseling ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Students, Medical