Informed Consent as a Means of Acknowledging and Avoiding Financial Toxicity as Iatrogenic Harm

Negative health consequences stemming from the financial burden of care on patients and their loved ones are documented as financial toxicity in the literature, and these consequences should be included in informed consent discussions during patient-clinician interactions. However, codes of medical ethics have yet to require obtaining consent to financial costs, even as the No Surprises Act, effective on January 1, 2022, requires some clinicians to facilitate informed financial consent prior to an out-of-network elective service as a means of avoiding arbitration. This article discusses how this requirement can be more broadly applied to informed consent for any intervention.