Year: 2019
Type: letter
Abstract: The Editors welcome topical correspondence from readers relating to articles published in the Journal. Letters should be submitted electronically via the BJS submission site (mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjs). All correspondence will be reviewed and, if approved, appear in the Journal. Correspondence must be no more than 300 words in length. Editor We welcome de Mik and colleagues' review1 of shared decision-making (SDM) in surgery. SDM is a vital component of an effective informed consent process. It promotes patient autonomy and goes some way to ensuring that patients are given the material information before arriving at a considered decision. This is even more relevant in light of the Montgomery ruling2. Much of the informed consent literature falls victim to the same limitations outlined in de Mik's review in relation to outcome measurements. A Cochrane review3 of interventions designed to improve informed consent for surgery demonstrated that the heterogeneity in outcome reporting in such trials impaired their ability to compare interventions against each other and precluded any meaningful synthesis of the data. In summary, too many outcomes are evaluated in too many ways. To address this issue, the ICONS study4 will develop a core outcome set for studies of interventions designed to improve consent for surgery. The core outcome set will incorporate the views of patients, clinicians, clinical negligence law practitioners, consent researchers and bioethicists. Notably, patients' views will be central in the development process, helping to correct the failing of existing research that reported outcomes have not always been those most important or relevant to patients, leading to avoidable waste in the conduct or reporting of such studies5. Given the considerable inter-relationship between consent and SDM, the output of ICONS will provide clarity on which metrics should also be used to evaluate interventions for improving SDM and consent in future trials.
Source: British journal of surgery
DOI: 10.1002/bjs.11105
Authors: L Convie, R S McCain, N McKinley, S J Kirk, W J Campbell, M Clarke
Institutions: Queen's University Belfast, Ulster Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4231473776