For a clinical service, what constitutes proper informed consent?

• A. Discussion alone is sufficient.
• B. Signed consent alone is sufficient.
• C. Discussion plus signed consent is insufficient.
• D. Discussion plus signed consent is required.

Answer: (D)

Informed consent is a process: the clinician must discuss the procedure, its purpose, potential risks and benefits, alternatives (including doing nothing), and the consequences of not undergoing treatment; the patient must understand and agree voluntarily, with the capacity to decide. For a clinical service, both parts are needed—the discussion ensures understanding, and the signed consent provides a record that the patient agreed after being informed. A discussion by itself may leave no documentation, while a signed form without genuine understanding or voluntariness isn’t true consent. Therefore, discussion plus signed consent is required. If the patient cannot consent, a legally authorized representative must be involved, and the process should still be documented.