Virtual Reality-Assisted Informed Consent for Anesthesia: A Prospective and Randomized Proof-of-Concept Study
Sebastian Simon1, Philipp Opfermann2, Jochen G Hofstaetter1
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Hospital Speising, 1130 Vienna, Austria.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|October 26, 2024
Summary
Virtual reality (VR) significantly reduces anesthesia informed consent dialog times. This VR-assisted approach is well-received by patients and enhances anesthesiologist work-time efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Medical Technology
- Patient Communication
Background:
- Informed consent for anesthesia presents communication and legal challenges.
- Direct patient-anesthesiologist interaction for consent is time-intensive.
- Smart technologies like virtual reality (VR) offer potential solutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of VR-assisted informed consent for anesthesia.
- To compare dialog times and patient satisfaction between VR and traditional methods.
- To assess the cost-effectiveness of VR in the informed consent process.
Main Methods:
- A prospective randomized study involving 50 orthopedic surgery patients.
- Control group received standard patient-specialist dialogs for consent.
- Intervention group used an 8-minute VR 3D movie followed by dialog.
Main Results:
- VR group dialogs averaged 93 seconds vs. 665 seconds in the control group (p < 0.001).
- 100% of patients found the VR experience favorable or neutral.
- VR-assisted consent could save anesthesiologists ≈$40 (US) or ≈$11 (UK) per patient.
Conclusions:
- VR-assisted informed consent is effective and well-accepted by patients.
- This method significantly reduces the time required for anesthesia consent dialogs.
- VR offers a promising strategy to improve anesthesiologist work-time efficiency.
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