[Informed consent: what is the question? Correlation between practice and theory]

Informed consent in medical or human experimentation is a concept generally accepted by most doctors. The foundation of informed consent is self-determination and, in the legal setting of France, contractual agreement. The practical application of informed consent in medical specialities such as psychiatrics or intensive care raises difficult problems subject to much debate. Contemporary history would suggest that the strength of informed consent may be highly insufficient to avoid the risk of dictated power dominating-patients. In order to find a solution to these problems, the field of action of informed consent must be widened. We propose here to define informed consent as one of many means to defend patient dignity and human rights.