Continuing consent

TL;DRAbstract

Seeking and obtaining consent is commonly represented as a single act. The patient presents, and the clinician explains what he or she wishes to do and seeks the patient’s agreement to implement investigations and treatment. The paperwork is signed, the forms sent off and consent is complete. This routine conceptualization of consent does not capture a significant component of proper consent, namely that it is continuing or ongoing. Merely because someone once agreed to, or indeed refused, an investigation, procedure or treatment, it does not mean that consent endures indefinitely. Yet like the requirement that consent be voluntary, the value of ensuring that consent is continuing is often overlooked in the literature. Where it is discussed in detail, it is most likely to be in the context of research where a participant’s ongoing willingness to be part of a trial or study is often built into the protocol and emphasized as part of the process of obtaining ethical approval. This chapter

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