Editorial Informed Consent in Research and Clinical Situations

Informed voluntary consent is universally rec-ognized as an essential safeguard to ensure the preservation of individual rights. The requirement for an informed consent is well established in all deci-sion making situations both clinical as well as research in which human subjects are invited to par-ticipate.1 In clinical situations, the informed and will-ing participation of the patient is deemed essential for any diagnostic or therapeutic process to continue. Some procedures like the insertion of an intravenous line for infusion of fluids may require only that the patient be informed and his presentation of an out-stretched arm is taken as his implied consent and no formal documents are needed be signed, while other procedures like surgery require explicit documente