Redesigning Informed Consent: Enhancing Risk Communication Through a Novel Risk Visualization Tool

Reducing liability risk through informed consent.

A new report by the American Medical Association reveals why medical liability claims are so devastating and costly for America's doctors: just over 42% of all physicians and an astonishing 57% of physicians in surgical subspecialties have been sued. Nearly 61% of physicians aged 55 or older have faced the ordeal of a lawsuit. But what if the specter of litigation could be reduced through bette...

Predicting perioperative risk and informed consent.

Patients’ beliefs regarding informed consent for low-risk pragmatic trials

BACKGROUND The requirement to obtain written informed consent may undermine the potential of pragmatic randomized clinical trials (pRCTs) to improve evidence-based care. This requirement could compromise trials statistical power or even force it to close them down prematurely. However, recent data from the U.S. and Spain suggest that a majority of the public endorses written consent for low-ris...

Can informed consent to research be adapted to risk?

The current ethical and regulatory framework for research is often charged with burdening investigators and impeding socially valuable research. To address these concerns, a growing number of research ethicists argue that informed consent should be adapted to the risks of research participation. This would require less rigorous consent standards in low-risk research than in high-risk research. ...

Reviving informed consent: using risk perception in clinical trials.

The current doctrine of informed consent falls far short of its potential to serve as a valuable safeguard for human research subjects. Instead of providing a channel of communication between physician and subject, informed consent is a lifeless entity responsible for a large portion of the misunderstanding existing between these parties. Acknowledging risk perception principles may help transf...