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Although obtaining informed consent has long been a necessary part of modern surgical practice, experts recently have begun to wonder if it is sufficient. The related (but more time-consuming and collaborative) process of “informed decision-making” might enhance patient understanding of difficult clinical situations, particularly when complex, high-risk surgical procedures are on the table.
To assess current use of both discussion techniques in clinical practice, researchers analyzed 90 audio recordings of preoperative surgical consultations for complex clinical situations at three North American academic medical centers. Almost all conversations included elements common to both techniques (such as summary of the pros and cons of surgery [92…