Tips and Pearls on Consent Forms for Surgical and Cosmetic Procedures in Dermatology #PACPearls

-
The WDS Practice Advisory Committee (PAC) shares tips and advice for optimizing consent forms for surgical and cosmetic procedures in dermatology.

Include Patient Discussions in Office Notes

Don’t forget that a form may not always protect you. It is just as important, if not more, to include the discussion you had with the patient in your office note. The patient can always claim that they didn’t read a form that was put in front of them.
- Mark Kaufmann, MD


Focus on Patient Dialogue

More important than a signed consent form, is a dialogue with the patient to convey the risks, benefits and alternatives of a procedure or intervention, and determining that the patient understands the dialogue as it is pertinent to them.
Also, consider having a witness print their name and sign as well as the patient on the consent form.
- Monica Li, MD, FRCPC, FAAD


Increase Patient Compliance after a New Procedure

Give patients a follow up call the day after a new procedure. This can be delegated out to office staff if needed. Patients usually have questions or concerns the day after experiencing a new procedure and they always really appreciate the call. This simple step increases patient compliance with post procedure instructions, decreases incoming patient calls to the office and patient complaints, improves outcomes, and sets you apart from other providers that wouldn’t take the time to do this.
- Jeanette Black, MD


Use Simple Consistent Phrasing

Phrase in simple language with the patient in first person and divide out into two categories: 
“I will have ...” and “I may experience ...”
Add the exact same phrasing to patient after visit summary/after care instructions and the notes to keep things consistent. 
- Lori Fiessinger, MD

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WDS Book Club - Read and Recommend

-
Image
WDS Book Club - Summer Reads By the News You Can Use Committee Summer is heating up! Ready to cool off with a summer escape? Whether you’re craving a relaxing beachside book or a fun staycation read, dive into this selection of titles curated by your WDS Members   Molly Stout, MD recommends the following books: 1) The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hildebrand – An iconic summer destination in need of a fearless leader, plus a little ghostly mystery. 2) The Covenant of Water by Abraham Vergase – A multigenerational family saga with lots of nods of medicine. Don’t be afraid of the page count, this tome is hard to put down. 3) The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella  – A young woman finds herself at a career meltdown and retreats to her childhood vacation town. For anyone feeling burnt out, this will reignite a little heat! 4) The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki – Consider your historical fiction itch scratched with this real-life cereal heiress. The plot thickens with
Read more

Melanoma: Recent Advances and Future Possibilities

-
Image
  Melanoma: Recent Advances and Future Possibilities By Cather McKay MD, FAAD The incidence of invasive melanoma increases each year. Deaths from melanoma steadily rose until 2014, decreased until 2019, but have been on the rise again. As of 2024, the American Cancer Society predicts the lifetime risk of melanoma is 1 in 33 for White Americans, 1 in 1,000 for Black Americans, and 1 in 200 for Hispanic Americans. 1 Despite lower incidence in patients with skin of color, diagnosis tends to occur later with poorer survival as a result. We as dermatologists aim to improve diagnostic accuracy and correctly stage our patients so they can be referred to appropriate specialists. Melanoma staging and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines are important for every dermatologist to review and are available with a free NCCN account. Here are some of the recent updates 2 :   Biopsy principles Biopsy via saucerization/deep shave removal, punch for small diameter les
Read more