Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

No More Never Events - February 2014 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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1 3 7 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E John D. Kelly IV, MD CUTTING REMARKS (Mis) Informed Consent Apprise patients of the reasonable risks of a procedure without scaring them to death. H onesty is the best policy. I'm a big believer in that. So, yes, we should apprise patents who elect to have surgery of the pros and cons of each procedure. I do lament, however, that the consent process has degraded into a nitpicking, catastrophizing and excessively legalese document. • Nitpicking. If I had a dime for every time I was called for an incom- plete consent, I'd be in the Virgin Islands on the second tee … now. Common reasons for being reprimanded include: q Failing to write out the words LEFTand RIGHT. The letter 'L' no longer suffices and is grounds for a sharp reproof by the PACU nurse. Next thing you know I'll be forced to write out 'DOCTOR KELLY' instead of 'DR. K' Do I OVERKILL? Is our informed consent process a bit much? OSE_1402_part3_Layout 1 2/6/14 3:03 PM Page 137

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