Health care providers are often required by law or institutional policies to obtain informed consent before administering certain medical procedures, including experimental methods or procedures. Although informed consent is often equated with a signed written form used to document an individual’s decision, written consent is neither inherently necessary nor sufficient. Regardless of the presence or absence of written documentation, informed consent requires providers to ensure that a client receiving a method or treatment has knowingly and voluntarily agreed to be treated. Whether informed consent is written or verbal, however, it cannot replace the informed choice process, which is dependent on counselling and the information exchange between providers and clients.