"Waiver of Informed Consent in Emergency Situations" was published in the June/July 2018 issue of Critical Connections.

The Belmont Report, published in 1979, outlines the basic ethical principles for research with human subjects, which include respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.1 Respect for persons requires that subjects, to the degree that they are capable, be given the opportunity to choose what shall or shall not happen to them.1 This opportunity is provided when adequate standards for informed consent are satisfied.1 The consent process contains three elements: information, comprehension, and voluntariness.1 Obtaining informed consent for participation in research reinforces the ethical principle of autonomy by providing the opportunity for individuals to make a voluntary choice to participate. Informed consent is also a legal doctrine based on the Common Rule. The Common Rule, published in 1991, is a set of federal regulations for ethical conduct of research with human subjects. 2 Title 45 CFR part 46 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations outlines the basic provisions for institutional review boards (IRBs), informed consent, and assurances of compliance.3

Critical Connections, the critical care industry's only newsmagazine, provides information on cutting-edge topics in critical care useful to the entire multiprofessional team.Philippe R. Bauer, Judith A. Tate