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 .
Patient-physician communication: informed consent for imaging-guided spinal injections.
PURPOSE Historically , informed-consent forms have been developed for the purpose of educating patients . However , informed-consent forms can be very difficult to underst and . The hypothesis of this study was that a method using diagrams would improve patient-physician communication without increasing the time required to obtain informed consent over the teach-the-teacher method , as well as over current st and ard informed-consent protocol . METHODS Ninety-nine of 109 patients undergoing spinal injections agreed to participate and completed this prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled study . The patients were r and omly assigned to the control group ( informed consent obtained in the customary manner at the investigators ' institution , with 12 key points of consent and home care discussed conversationally ) , the teach-the-teacher group ( patients had to repeat the 12 key points to the physicians before informed consent was complete ) , and the diagram group ( patients viewed a set of diagrams illustrating the 12 key points before signing the informed-consent form ) . After the procedure , the patients completed a survey to test knowledge recall , anxiety , and pain during the procedure . RESULTS Statistically significant results included a lower survey score for the control group , longer time required for the teach-the-teacher group than the control group , and a negative correlation between age and survey score in the teach-the-teacher group . CONCLUSIONS The diagram method required less time than the teach-the-teacher method , had no negative correlation in survey score results with age , and had improved patient-physician communication over the control group
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 .