Do the patients read the informed consent?

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Patient Communication
• Surgical Procedures

Background:

• Informed consent is a crucial process ensuring patients are informed about medical interventions and actively participate in decision-making.
• Effective informed consent empowers patients and upholds ethical medical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient adherence to reading informed consent documents.
• To identify reasons for non-adherence to the informed consent process.

Main Methods:

• A survey study was conducted with 522 patients at the pre-anesthetic visit.
• Patients completed a questionnaire assessing their engagement with and understanding of the informed consent document.

Main Results:

• Over half (54.8%) of patients reported not reading the informed consent document.
• Common reasons for not reading included: perceived inevitability of surgery (50.3%), lack of time (13.4%), and difficulty understanding (11.9%).
• Inpatients, older patients, and those with comorbidities were less likely to read the document.

Conclusions:

• A significant majority of patients do not fully engage with or comprehend the importance of informed consent.
• Informed consent documents require redesign for better readability, incorporating visual aids like illustrations or videos.
• The informed consent process should be emphasized as an ongoing dialogue, not merely a signature on a form.