Having government paperwork to reduce paperwork seems a little, no, a lot oxymoronic. However, the administrator of the OIRA appointed by President Barack Obama is Cass R. Sunstein, one of the coauthors of a book called, "Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness." Advertisers have accumulated a vast science on how to influence people to buy things they don’t need. "Nudge" suggests it is time to use that research in behavioral economics to nudge people to default toward making good decisions. This approach, called libertarian paternalism, may also seem like an oxymoron. But then, lately, so has the term informed consent.
Dr. Kevin T. Powell is an associate professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University and a pediatric hospitalist at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis. He said he had no relevant financial disclosures. E-mail Dr. Powell.