840 Digital Consent: Does It Have a Role in the Perioperative Workflow?

Abstract

Abstract Aim Paper consent processes often contain errors of omission, illegibility, and unwarranted variation. Missing paper-consent forms can cause delays, cancellations, and poor theatre efficiency. Digital consent reduces errors, empowers patients in clinical decision discussions and improves patient perception of Shared Decision Making (SDM). This study evaluates the roll-out of the Concentric Health digital consent application in 2022. Method Consent episode data was assessed from a one-year period (1st January 2022 - 18th December 2022) using Concentric analytics. Qualitative data was obtained via optional patient satisfaction surveys. Results 63,024 consent episodes were created during the period, amounting to 51,424 completed consent episodes for 4,021 unique procedures by 1,427 clinicians across 28 specialties from 38 healthcare providers. Of the completed episodes, 36.8% were completed in advance of the day-of-surgery. 22.9% of episodes were remote. Patients were aged 0-103 years, (median 56, IQR 31). Treatment information was shared digitally with 77.7% of patients. The average patient satisfaction rating was 4.6 out of 5 (1 very poor - 5 very good, n = 8359). Conclusions Concentric has been introduced into practice across multiple hospitals and clinical environments, with patients reporting high satisfaction scores. Remote consent is feasible, being used by nearly a quarter of patients. Digital consent facilitates consent in advance of the day-of-surgery, giving patients adequate time for consideration and possibly optimising theatre efficiency. Digital consent applications can be considered for adoption across all units to capitalise on these benefits. Further work will investigate demographic effects on satisfaction scores.