How Informed Consent Impacts Surgery Malpractice Outcomes

The article by CRICO author Hannah Tremont, MPH, published in Inside Medical Liability, explains “Informed consent means patients must understand a procedure’s risks, benefits, and alternatives. This is essential for ethical, legal, and patient-focused care, but poses liability risks for surgeons that malpractice data can help address.”  To discuss and help address these concerns, Hannah highlights related Candello data—more than 9,500 surgery cases that closed between 2017 and 2021.  

The article concludes, “The Candello analysis and other research show that informed consent issues still play a significant role in patient safety and MPL risk. Addressing these issues through improved communication, better documentation, and innovative technologies like video-assisted consent may be effective methods to mitigate vulnerabilities in the informed consent process and enhance patient safety.”

Full-text Citation

Tremont H. How informed consent impacts surgery malpractice outcomes. Inside Medical Liability. 2024 July.