Informed consent is the process for ethically obtaining a patient’s approval to perform healthcare services or disclose health information about them. To give informed consent, an individual must have a clear understanding of the consequences of a medical procedure or the implications of sharing medical information. Informed consent is required for any medical research to ensure that participants know what treatment they will receive or how their medical information will be used.

A note about e-Signatures:

Informed consents for research studies and other authorizations like privacy documents are typically signed electronically which means you do not have to print and sign these important documents. When you sign electronically, you understand that your signature is legally binding (which means that it can be used for important documents), that you are signing for yourself (which means you are not letting someone else use your account or password), and that you understand why you are signing (for example, you agree to participant in a research study after reviewing the informed consent form).