Informed Consent in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Primer

Abstract

Informed consent is fundamental for protecting patient autonomy 1 . This process protects patients from paternalistic bias, in which physicians influence their patients' decisions without their explicit understanding 2 . The laws governing informed consent ensure that patients are adequately aware of the procedure, postoperative protocols, and risks of complications. Delivering medical care without consent may be considered battery or physical assault and may be subject to severe legal consequences 2 .An analysis of audiotapes of primary care visits found that only 9% of visits met the criteria for adequate informed consent, drawing attention to the inadequacy of the process 3 . Orthopaedists have among the highest annual rates of medical malpractice claims (15%) 4,5 . In cervical spine surgery, informed consent is involved in up to 56.4% of malpractice claims among orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons 4 . Protecting patient autonomy is an ethical imperative that requires comprehensive discussions. Avoiding these discussions constitutes a failure to uphold professionalism and respect for bioethics.To assess the informed consent process, we sought to answer 4 questions. (1) What defines informed consent? (2) Can informed consent be objectively measured? (3) What barriers impede adequate informed consent? (4) What legalities are involved in malpractice claims relating to informed consent? Source of FundingThere was no external source of funding for this study.