Wouter Leclercq

Insight in information provision prior to obtaining surgical informed consent by audiotaping outpatient consultations 95 6 INTRODUCTION The term ‘surgical informed consent’ (SIC) refers to the patient’s consent to a surgical treatment. The patient needs to comprehend all aspects of treatment which might influence his or her arrival at a well-considered decision. The responsibility for the patient’s comprehension lies with the treating surgeon. 1,2 In the Netherlands, SIC is regulated by law in the Dutch Medical Treatment Contracts Act (MTCA). Besides being legally required 1,3 , SIC is beneficial to patients. This is because patients with a proper understanding of their diagnosis, treatment, and their respective implications on lifestyle have been found to show lower levels of illness concerns, higher patient satisfaction, and better perceived control over the situation. 4–6 Since SIC is an important part of medical treatment, it is surprising that most of the literature we have consulted suggests that SIC is not adequately conducted in current practice. 3,7 For example, surgeons seem not to be aware of every aspect of informed consent. Surgeons also underestimate the patient’s desire to receive extensive information prior to a surgical procedure. 8,9 Audio recordings of outpatient consultations show that patients are informed inconsistently. Only a minority of patients receives information on all aspects of treatment. 10 Despite the issues that arise from these studies, there have only been a few studies that have aimed to analyze the actual practice of SIC today. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to provide insight into the current practice of SIC in the Netherlands. We investigated the patient-informing process, the written documentation of the SIC process in the patient’s chart, and time spent on SIC.