title: Time to stop worrying about the therapeutic misconception.
abstract: Work on the therapeutic misconception suggests that investigators should ensure that potential research subjects understand the fundamental differences between clinical research and clinical care. Yet, what potential research subjects should understand depends on their circumstances and the study in question. This analysis implies that researchers and review committees should stop attempting to define, measure, and dispel the therapeutic misconception, and instead should focus on what potential subjects should understand to participate in individual studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. DWendler@cc.nih.gov
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Wendler
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics* / Q000639:trends; D032882:Comprehension; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D005791:Patient Care / Q000941:ethics; D035842:Research Subjects; D055990:Therapeutic Misconception / Q000941:ethics*; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics