All of the following must be included in the informed consent discussion EXCEPT:

Correct answer: B. The itemized cost of the procedure

• A. ALTERNATIVES, expressly including the option of NO TREATMENT and its consequences, must be presented. Omitting alternatives is among the most common consent failures.
• B. CORRECT as the EXCEPTION. COST is a matter of financial disclosure and contract, not of INFORMED CONSENT. Consent doctrine concerns the patient's right to make an informed decision about a bodily intervention, and its required elements are clinical. Fee discussion is ethically and practically necessary — and belongs in a financial agreement — but its absence does not invalidate consent, whereas omitting a material risk does.
• C. The NATURE of the proposed treatment — what will actually be done — is a foundational element of consent.
• D. MATERIAL RISKS and complications are essential. A risk is 'material' if a reasonable person would want to know it when deciding.

Note: Mnemonic for consent elements — PARQ: Procedure, Alternatives, Risks, Questions. Add the patient's CAPACITY to decide and the VOLUNTARY nature of the decision. Document the discussion, not merely the signature.