Consent to treatment is the tenet of medical ethics that requires that the patient or their medical proxy agree to a course of treatment before doctors perform a medical procedure on a patient. Where possible, that consent should be explicit and in writing. Consent must be informed - doctors are professionally obligated to reasonably inform patients of all potential benefits and risks of a treatment. Gregory House is infamous for his browbeating of patients to get them to sign consent, and has even misled patients on several occasions.