Patients’ rights are a growing concern for doctors and patients. A vital aspect of their relationship is consent: doctors need signed agreement from patients before carrying out operations or procedures; before entering patients in clinical trials; and before publishing clinical details or photographs of patients for medical education in print or electronic media. Consent is said to be informed when patients are fully aware of the consequences and all material risks of the procedure in question. For example, doctors and other health professionals should tell patients of the complications of a treatment and the likelihood of its success. They should make sure that patients understand the information given; they should be given the opportunity to ask questions and, where appropriate, immediate relatives should be involved in the process. Doctors are often inclined to highlight the benefits of a treatment, while downplaying the risks, but the GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL (GMC) in the United Kingdom has shown its willingness to discipline doctors who go beyond the consent that they were given by patients (see also BOLAM TEST).