Introduction
Informed consent for medical treatment is much easier to state than to apply. It's defined as "the voluntary agreement, by a patient, to medical care with full understanding of his or her condition, the nature of the proposed treatment, alternative treatments, risk that may be associated with treatment, and risk of no treatment at all" (Diaz, 2004, p. 181). The attainment of informed consent of minors can be very complicated due to the specific requirements, which often vary from state to state. Under US common law, parental or legal guardian consent generally is required for the medical treatment of minors. Medical personnel sometimes view the process of obtaining informed consent as an administrative burden and obstacle or impediment to providing quality medical care. Depending on how and under what circumstances a provider obtained consent for a minor, he or she may still be held liable for battery, negligence, and/or misconduct (Beauchamp, 1997, Kuther,......
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