We have identified efforts by research ers to investigate interventions which seek to improve information delivery and consideration of information to enhance  informed consent .
The interventions used consistently improve patient knowledge , an important prerequisite for informed consent .
This is encouraging and these measures could be widely employed although we are not able to say with confidence which types of interventions are preferable .
Our results should be interpreted with caution due to the high levels of heterogeneity associated with many of the main analyses although we believe there is broad evidence of beneficial outcomes for patients with the pragmatic application of interventions .
BACKGROUND Achieving informed consent is a core clinical procedure and is required before any surgical or invasive procedure is undertaken .
However , it is a complex process which requires patients be provided with information which they can underst and and retain , opportunity to consider their options , and to be able to express their opinions and ask questions .
There is evidence that at present some patients undergo procedures without informed consent being achieved .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects on patients , clinicians and the healthcare system of interventions to promote informed consent for patients undergoing surgical and other invasive healthcare treatments and procedures .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Informed consent is an important ethical and practical part of patient care .
Helping patients make informed choices: a randomized trial of a decision aid for adjuvant chemotherapy in lymph node-negative breast cancer.
BACKGROUND In recent years , patients have indicated a desire for more information about their disease and to be involved in making decisions about their care . We developed an aid called the " Decision Board " to help clinicians inform patients with lymph node-negative breast cancer of the risks and benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy . We determined whether adding the Decision Board to the medical consultation improved patient knowledge and satisfaction compared with the medical consultation alone . METHODS Between October 1995 and March 2000 , 176 women with lymph node-negative breast cancer who were c and i date s for adjuvant chemotherapy were r and omly assigned to receive the Decision Board plus the medical consultation ( 83 patients ) or the medical consultation alone ( 93 patients ) . One week after the consultation , patients completed a question naire assessing their knowledge about breast cancer and chemotherapy .  Satisfaction with decision making was assessed 1 week and 3 , 6 , and 12 months after r and omization , and differences between groups were analyzed by a repeated measures analysis of variance . All statistical tests were two-sided . RESULTS Patients in the Decision Board arm were better informed about breast cancer and adjuvant chemotherapy than patients in the control arm ( mean knowledge score = 80.2 [ on a scale of 0 - 100 ] , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = 77.1 to 83.3 , and 71.7 , 95 % CI = 69.0 to 74.4 , respectively ; P<.001 ) . Over the entire study period , satisfaction with decision making was higher for patients in the Decision Board arm than for patients in the control arm ( P = .032 ) . There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the number of patients who chose adjuvant chemotherapy ( 77 % and 70 % for patients in the Decision Board arm and those in the control arm , respectively ; P = .303 ) . CONCLUSION When making decisions regarding adjuvant chemotherapy , patients with early breast cancer who had been exposed to the Decision Board had better knowledge of the disease and treatment options and greater satisfaction with their decision making than those who received the st and ard consultation
We have identified efforts by research ers to investigate interventions which seek to improve information delivery and consideration of information to enhance  informed consent .
The interventions used consistently improve patient knowledge , an important prerequisite for informed consent .
This is encouraging and these measures could be widely employed although we are not able to say with confidence which types of interventions are preferable .
Our results should be interpreted with caution due to the high levels of heterogeneity associated with many of the main analyses although we believe there is broad evidence of beneficial outcomes for patients with the pragmatic application of interventions .
BACKGROUND Achieving informed consent is a core clinical procedure and is required before any surgical or invasive procedure is undertaken .
However , it is a complex process which requires patients be provided with information which they can underst and and retain , opportunity to consider their options , and to be able to express their opinions and ask questions .
There is evidence that at present some patients undergo procedures without informed consent being achieved .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects on patients , clinicians and the healthcare system of interventions to promote informed consent for patients undergoing surgical and other invasive healthcare treatments and procedures .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Informed consent is an important ethical and practical part of patient care .