====== eConsent ======
[[Patient recall]] of [[information]] about [[procedure]]s, including [[risk]]s and [[benefit]]s and potential [[outcome]]s, is often insufficient. 

Bethune et al., from University of [[Toronto]], sought to determine whether a [[multimedia]] [[patient education]]al [[tool]] enhances the [[informed consent]] [[discussion]] for elective [[neurosurgical procedure]]s by increasing patient [[knowledge]] of the [[procedure]].

Adult patients from a single neurosurgical site eligible for 4 [[neurosurgical procedure]]s ([[lumbar spine]] or cervical spine [[decompression]] for [[degenerative disease]], [[craniotomy]] for [[brain tumor]] or [[trigeminal neuralgia treatment]]) were offered enrolment. Patients were randomly assigned to either the control arm (standard consent discussion) or the intervention arm (review of an e-book containing information tailored to their disease/injury plus standard consent discussion). Participants completed a 14-item [[questionnaire]] before and after the [[consent]] [[discussion]].

[[Questionnaire]]s were completed by 38 participants, 18 in the control group and 20 in the intervention group. The mean age was 62.2 (standard deviation [SD] 13.6) years and did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. The mean baseline questionnaire scores were similar for the control and intervention groups (20.4 [SD 7.3] v. 20.6 [SD 6.7]). However, the mean scores on the follow-up questionnaire were significantly different between the 2 groups (20.2 [SD 4.0] v. 23.2 [SD 4.9], p = 0.02). There was no change in the scores on the 2 questionnaires in the control group, whereas, in the intervention group, the mean score was significantly higher after the intervention (p = 0.03).

The use of an electronic [[booklet]] appears to improve patients' knowledge of their surgical [[procedure]]. The use of [[multimedia]] booklets in clinical practice could help standardize and optimize the consent process, ensuring that patients receive the relevant information to make a truly informed decision
((Bethune A, Davila-Foyo M, Valli M, da Costa L. e-Consent: approaching surgical
consent with mobile technology. Can J Surg. 2018 Aug 1;61(5):16017. doi:
10.1503/cjs.016017. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30062997.
)).