PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - I de Melo-Martín
AU  - A Ho
TI  - Beyond informed consent: the therapeutic misconception and trust
AID  - 10.1136/jme.2006.019406
DP  - 2008 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 202--205
VI  - 34
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/34/3/202.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/34/3/202.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2008 Mar 01; 34
AB  - The therapeutic misconception has been seen as presenting an ethical problem because failure to distinguish the aims of research participation from those receiving ordinary treatment may seriously undermine the informed consent of research subjects. Hence, most theoretical and empirical work on the problems of the therapeutic misconception has been directed to evaluate whether, and to what degree, this confusion invalidates the consent of subjects. We argue here that this focus on the understanding component of informed consent, while important, might be too narrow to capture the ethical complexity of the therapeutic misconception. We show that concerns about misplaced trust and exploitation of such trust are also relevant, and ought to be taken into account, when considering why the therapeutic misconception matters ethically.