Re-engineering the process of surgical informed consent.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Decision Support Systems
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Informed consent is crucial for patient autonomy and safety in surgical procedures.
• Current informed consent processes can be inconsistent and lack patient-centeredness.
• Standardized risk communication and unbiased appraisal are essential for effective patient decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a clinical performance support system that transforms surgical informed consent into an interactive and adaptive process.
• To assess the system's ability to provide standardized content, expert critique, and track clinician and patient interactions.
• To investigate the relationship between clinician risk appraisal, disclosure practices, and patient perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel clinical performance support system for surgical informed consent.
• Implementation of features for standardized content delivery, expert critique, and behavior tracking.
• Deployment of a system prototype in a breast surgery unit for real-world evaluation.
• Assessment of clinician and patient perceptions regarding the informed consent process.

Main Results:

• The system provides standardized, comprehensive information on surgical risks and complications.
• It offers expert critique to mitigate biased risk appraisal by clinicians.
• The system captures and archives clinician and patient interactions with knowledge resources.
• It facilitates just-in-time access to procedural and risk information.

Conclusions:

• The developed system enhances surgical informed consent by making it interactive and responsive to user needs.
• It has the potential to improve risk communication, reduce cognitive biases, and support shared decision-making.
• Further evaluation is needed to fully understand the impact on clinician and patient perceptions and outcomes.