Trend: Physicians using tech to boost informed consent

Old-fashioned paper informed consent forms are pretty much a one-size-fits-all thing, and for most patients that may work. However, some doctors are finding that when patients go through an interactive, automated informed consent process--rather than slapping a signature on a single piece of paper--they're getting more out of it. Such technology may also give patients the chance to answer questions as they arrive. On top of these benefits, automated consent forms may help physicians avoid liability, experts say.

Such systems can create a consent form specific to the patient and procedure they're going to undergo, while adding language specific to the hospital or state in question. Other systems, which are typically used with traditional forms, use video or other tools and provide educational materials a patient can review outside the office. Examples of these systems include iMedConsent, offered by Atlanta-based Dialog Medical.

In medical practices, these systems usually cost a few hundred dollars per year, per physician. While that's not pocket change, it's nothing compared to the cost of losing patients over misunderstandings or worse, fighting them in court. They also save on physician time, which can add up to a significant financial benefit over time. 

Meanwhile, physicians aren't alone in their interest in such systems. The VA hospital system launched an automated informed consent system a few years ago, in 2004. Another example is the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which implemented the iMed solution in 2007, integrating iMed into its EMR.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this AMNews piece
- read this Health Management Technology piece on M.D. Anderson automated informed consent rollout

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Trend: Hospitals improving informed consent process