Legal
The original Declaration of Geneva, The Second General Assembly of the World Medical Association 1948:
At the time of being admitted as a Member of the medical profession:
In the past, doctors were paternalistic and took decisions on behalf of the patient. Today, all patients should be informed about investigations and treatments to such an extent that they themselves can decide whether they want them or not. This is called informed consent, and has been introduced to ensure the patient’s autonomy -their right to self-determination.