INFORMED CONSENT BETWEEN BIOETHICAL THEORY AND MEDICAL PRACTICE: A CALL FOR ACTIVE VULNERABILITY

Marija Selak

DOI Number
10.22190/FULP1702171S
First page
171
Last page
179

Abstract


The emancipation of bioethics from new medical ethics is a result of the awakening of the role and the rights of patients. Thus, the appearance and realization of informed consent can be seen as an example of the mode in which the contemporary attitude towards medical practice has developed, starting from paternalism and ending in recent attempts for the establishment of a dialogue. Nevertheless, a more detailed analysis of the informed consent practice, with emphasis on the situation in Croatia, shows that this progress is more theoretical, and less related to everyday procedures with patients – encounters with physicians. In view of this, in his PhD thesis “Respecting Patients' Right to Information Regarding Medical Procedure during Hospital Treatment in Croatia” Luka Vučemilo shows that during their stay in hospitals patients do not fully realize their right to be informed. In this paper, we will emphasize the asymmetry in the physician’s and the patient’s perception of informed consent and its formal self-sufficiency. This will serve as confirmation of the fact that informing for the purpose of giving consent to particular medical treatment is not being implemented properly. In order to try to understand the problems concerning the realization of informed consent, in the conclusion of the paper, the same as in the beginning, in order to observe its appearance, we will once again attempt to extend our context and take into consideration the contemporary world-historical situation.


Keywords

informed consent, bioethics, patient, physician, authority

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FULP1702171S

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