Standardising written informed consent forms to improve patient care: a quality improvement project

Informed consent is a critical component of patient-centred care, yet variability in its delivery can undermine patient understanding, satisfaction and autonomy. In practice, however, the process is often hindered by high clinical workloads, time pressures and the absence of a standardised approach, which can lead to incomplete explanations, variability in practice and reduced patient comprehension. This project aimed to improve patient understanding and satisfaction with bedside procedures by introducing a standardised informed consent process.This study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital's Acute Medical Assessment Unit to enhance the informed consent process for routine medical procedures, including thoracocentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture and blood transfusions. Prefilled consent forms were developed for each bedside procedure, detailing both common and uncommon complications with estimated prevalence. Multilingual patient information templates and pictorial aids were produced to address the needs of patients from diverse language and literacy backgrounds. The intervention was implemented over 10 sequential Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, each lasting 4 weeks, targeting barriers such as workflow integration, accessibility of forms and staff engagement.Patient satisfaction with the informed consent process increased from 64% to 94% over the course of the project. Patients reported improved understanding of procedure risks, benefits and alternatives and nursing staff described greater confidence and proactive participation in the process.This outcome supports a structured, standardised consent process supported by multilingual written materials and visual aids, which can substantially improve patient understanding and satisfaction for bedside procedures. Embedding these tools into routine workflows, supported by multidisciplinary engagement, can deliver more equitable and consistent patient-centred care.