Hungarian regulation of informed consent in the 20th century in the light of the universal history of the development of the doctor-patient relationship

Abstract

The traditional doctor-patient relationship and the rethinking of the patient’s role in this context led to the evolvement of the doctrine of informed consent and, eventually, its establishment in many jurisdictions. The need for the patient to become the subject – instead of the object – of the decisions about their own treatment only appeared in the thinking of the Western world after the Second World War. Accordingly, every country, including Hungary, has its own way and history of addressing the ethical, legal, and regulatory questions that have arisen in this regard since then. One determining element is that the paternalistic approach, rooted in the Hippocratic tradition, is increasingly replaced by another that views the doctor-patient relationship as a process that assumes a new decision-making mechanism based on mutual respect and cooperation between the parties. Along with the assessment of the international context, the development of the legislation regarding informed consent in healthcare is clearly shown by the three defining sectoral laws in Hungarian history.