Viewpoint: Do any of us truly have the capacity to consent?

Abstract

Life was simpler in the old days. A patient would turn up to their doctor seeking to find out what was wrong with them. The doctor, a professional with several years of study and immeasurable experience, would consider the symptoms. The doctor would hopefully examine the patient and, based on all of this, consider a differential diagnosis. ‘This is your diagnosis’ , they would confidently say. Then either ‘take these pills’ or ‘have this test’ . There was no room for negotiation, no informative or deliberative models of consultation, and no shared decision making. Autonomy was a phrase that would only have been used in relation to cars. Nowadays, from the novice medical student, to the nascent doctor stalking the wards, to the …