The use of 3D printing in improving patient-doctor relationship and malpractice prevention

Abstract

Doctor-patient relationship is mostly build on effective communication which plays an important role in delivering proper health care. Doctors have the duty to provide appropriate and sufficient information to the patient, concerning his medical condition and the available treatment options. The breakdown between doctor-patient relationship is the cause of majority of patients' complaints and aversions. Using customized 3D printed models for each patient and having the conversation and the explanations needed, based on the palpable particularities of the patient's medical condition, helps towards a more efficient communication and a better understanding of the ailment and the treatment's outcomes, thus reducing patients' insecurities to the medical act, preventing complaints, dissatisfaction and malpractice accusations.

Current applications of 3d printing in neurosurgery

“…Thus, with the development in 2012 of printers with the possibility of printing in several materials and densities (Shore value), the technique of 3D printing in neurosurgery has developed in several main directions: -development of anatomical models specific to the patient for surgical planning;vocational training and education; -design of neurosurgical devices for the evaluation and treatment of neurosurgical diseases; -and not least, the development of biological tissue implants. In this article, we will review the achievements of 3D printing in every direction in the neurosurgery field to evaluate the usefulness of final products, the challenges encountered and the progress of the field [1,5,7].…”

“…Using the standard printing method described above, it was possible to avoid the possibility of deterioration of adjacent tissues due to the exothermic reaction during the polymerization process. Thus, intraoperative modelling of the final implant can be performed in just a few minutes [1,6,7,8,9].…”

“…Also, the use of 3D printed models in vocational training helps surgical educators standardize the acquisition of operator skills among trainees. 3D printing thus offers a number of advantages, which allow it to be a useful adjunct to existing surgical simulation methods, such as cadaveric dissection and virtual reality techniques [1,2,4,7,9]. The main directions of neurosurgical pathology that have benefited from the advantages of 3D printing have been the provocative anatomy lesions, such as cerebral vascular malformations of the aneurysm or MAV, brain tumors, and techniques such as ventricular or transnational endoscopy, which involve visualization constraints.…”

“…Any medical procedure requires informed consent that involves a direct communication between the doctor, the patient and his family regarding the patient's condition, the treatment possibilities, along with its advantages and disadvantages, the consequences of the non-treatment, as well as the risks and complications of each form of therapy. [1,7]. Statistical studies have shown that each step of informed consent can be better explained and understood through the use of a tangible object, in other words by materializing an abstract concept.…”

“…The stages of the surgery as well as the possible specific complications are much better explained to the nonmedical staff through physical models. Also, these 3D printed models help to better understand the disease and the results of the treatment, thus reducing the patient's uncertainty about the medical act, preventing complaints, discontents and accusations of malpractice ( Figure 6) [7,8].…”