title: Enhancing informed consent best practices: gaining patient, family and provider perspectives using reverse simulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obtaining informed consent in the clinical setting is an important yet challenging aspect of providing safe and collaborative care to patients. While the medical profession has defined best practices for obtaining informed consent, it is unclear whether these standards meet the expressed needs of patients, their families as well as healthcare providers. The authors sought to address this gap by comparing the responses of these three groups with a standardised informed consent paradigm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Piloting a web-based 'reverse' simulation paradigm, participants viewed a video showing a standardised doctor engaging in an informed consent discussion. The scenario depicted a simulated patient with psychotic symptoms who is prescribed an atypical antipsychotic medication. 107 participants accessed the simulation online and completed a web-based debriefing survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Survey responses from patients, family members and healthcare providers indicated disparities in information retention, perception of the doctor's performance and priorities for required elements of the consent process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To enhance existing informed consent best practices, steps should be taken to improve patient retention of critical information. Adverse events should be described in the short-term and long-term along with preventative measures, and alternative psychosocial and pharmacological treatment options should be reviewed. Information about treatment should include when the medication takes therapeutic effect and how to safely maintain the treatment. The reverse simulation design is a model that can discern gaps in clinical practice, which can be used to improve patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goldfarb
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fromson
authors.forename: Tristan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gorrindo
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Birnbaum
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D008568:Memory; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D014743:Videotape Recording