P41 Development of a Montgomery compliant consent discussion aide memoire leading to the establishment of a 'remote consent clinic'

Abstract

In response to the Montgomery ruling and increasing costs due to improper consenting, specialties such as spinal surgery have implemented consent clinics performed between the conventional initial consultation and day of surgery. However, as this new process can be cost and labour intensive, providing the clinic remotely has been proposed as a way of streamlining this service.This review aims to develop a Montgomery-compliant checklist that provides practical considerations on conducting a remote consent clinic, with scope to integrate this initially into orthopaedic practice.Two literature searches were conducted with the first establishing previous study in remote consent clinics and the second determining the feasibility and financial viability of providing a remote clinic against a face-to-face clinic.The initial analysis revealed remote consent clinics as a relatively novel area of research. However, both literature searches suggested improvements in both patient recall and understanding in remote consenting, further enhanced by additional resources. Moreover, remote clinics are more efficient and cost-effective while still maintaining high patient satisfaction; outcomes are further improved by delegating this service to alternative staff members. Patients also benefit from the complete erasure of travel times and associated costs. Additionally, in the era of COVID-19, it limits patient exposure allowing hospitals to provide safer services.Consent clinics, when performed remotely, are a cost-effective and efficient tool to minimise negligence claims while maximising patient satisfaction. In line with the digitisation of healthcare, it also allows for a COVID-appropriate service. Nevertheless, to ease the transition, a practical checklist has been developed.