Wouter Leclercq

General Introduction and outline of thesis 13 1 OBJECTIVE OF THE THESIS The general aim of this thesis is to study methods of improving patient counselling before and after an operation. More specifically, in order to reach this aim, the following aspects of the process of patient counselling will be studied: 1. To study history as well as the current and future status of the surgical informed consent (SIC) process. 2. To evaluate various characteristics of SIC in general, orthopedic and plastic surgical practice. 3. To report on perceptions and experiences of young adults undergoing bariatric surgery regarding the SIC process. 4. To assess the relation between SIC and Shared Decision Making (SDM) in general surgery. 5. To analyse characteristics of malpractice claims and Medical Disciplinary Board (MDB) decisions regarding SIC in the Netherlands. 6. To evaluate currently used SIC forms in general surgery in the Netherlands and to provide a best-practice SIC form for surgeon and patient. 7. To evaluate the effect of a personalised e-health-care programme on ‘return to normal activities’ after surgery.