Putting the Informed into Informed Consent

Putting the Informed into Informed ConsentPhysicians and clinical trial coordinators often view "informed consent" as just a form that needs to be filled out or a procedure that needs to be undertaken. A common consequence is that those who have consented have not necessarily been well informed. Informed consent should really be treated as an ongoing process, with a chance for patients to absorb and discuss information over time.A new study of informed consent for clinical trials conducted in the ICU comes to the not very surprising finding that most patients who consented to participation in a trial don't really know what's going on. I would have been shocked if the data showed anything else.A more useful study, in my view, would examine how many patients undergoing elective procedures or enrolling in clinical trials outside of the hospital understand what is happening.