RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A written consent five centuries ago
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 639
OP 639
DO 10.1136/jme.2010.037713
VO 36
IS 10
A1 Salih Selek
YR 2010
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/36/10/639.abstract
AB The term informed consent does not have long historical roots. Until recent centuries, healthcare professionals were not held responsible for providing information to patients. The author reports a written consent from Anatolia dated almost five centuries ago. The contract was signed in 1539 in Gaziantep, Turkey (formerly known as Aintab, Ottoman Empire). The document, of course, differs from modern counterparts. It lacks details of interventions. The author believes this to be the first written consent in medical history. Further investigations of court registers should be made to ascertain the earliest date of their appearance.