Editor's Note In this study, researchers developed a question prompt list for older adults considering high-risk surgery. Three decision-making needs were addressed, including clarification of treatment options, setting postoperative expectations, and advance care planning. The list included 11 questions within 3 domains: Should I have surgery? What should I expect…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 11 published it’s latest Quick Safety newsletter, which focuses on informed consent. Implementing an effective informed consent process poses numerous challenges, and frequently patients do not understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives involved in their treatment or surgical procedures, the Joint Commission says.…

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A large Chicago-area health system has built a clearer, more robust process for resolving any discrepancies in the surgical consent prior to the day of surgery. Consent discrepancies are a risk factor for wrong-site surgery. “We realized that by the time the patient arrives in the surgery area, it is…

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Surgical patients who take part in a longer discussion of informed consent—15 to 30 minutes—understand their proposed operation better than those who have shorter discussions, according to a report in the June 2010 Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Asking patients to repeat back their understanding of the procedure…

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The principles of informed consent are well known—patients have the right to make informed decisions about their care, including surgery. The primary purpose of informed consent is to ensure that the patient has the information necessary to make a decision before agreeing to any treatment. The responsibility for informed consent…

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has eliminated the requirement that surgical consent forms list the names of practitioners who will assist the surgeon and tasks they will perform. Surgeons and perioperative nurses had pressed for the change, saying they often could not know in advance who would…

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