Procedure-specific consent is the norm in United States intensive care units

Creating informed consent processes that honor patient autonomy without overburdening patients or physicians is a perennial challenge. Nowhere are these stressors and competing interests more visible than in intensive care units (ICUs). Some advocate bundled consent for common interventions to decrease time pressures and increase focus on goals of care. Others express concern that the temporal delay between bundled consent and interventions may decrease comprehension and compromise informed consent. To address these issues, we sought to describe consent practices within adult ICUs.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute