Back to: Just the Inserts Training Course

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Simply put, inserts matter because informed consent is a basic human right.

What’s informed consent?

At its core, informed consent is the idea that before making a medical decision, whether it’s taking a prescription, getting a vaccine, or undergoing a procedure, you should have access to all the relevant information. That means:

• Knowing the potential benefits and risks
• Understanding alternative options (including doing nothing at all)
• Having the opportunity to ask questions without pressure or coercion

This isn’t some radical idea. It’s actually a fundamental medical and ethical principle. The problem? Too often, true informed consent isn’t happening in the way it should.

Let’s be honest. How often do we actually get all the details before making a medical decision?

Think about the last time you or your child were prescribed medication. Did your doctor go through every possible side effect? Did they discuss alternative treatments? Or did they just hand you a prescription and move on?

Or what about vaccines? How often are parents given the actual manufacturer’s insert? This is the document the manufacturer gave to the FDA to communicate the most important information about their products. It lists ingredients, how the the vaccine actually works, clinical trial data, and reported adverse reactions. And no, this isn’t that one page sheet you might have been given after your child got a shot.

Too often, the default approach in medicine is trust the recommendation rather than understand the full picture and decide for yourself.

Inserts are key in doing just that! But, before we start building our skill in reading inserts, let’s outline the informed consent process.