Abstract
To explore whether the fundamental concepts of informed consent and patient autonomy are acceptable and practical from a surgeon’s point of view.
One hundred and fifty three questionnaires distributed to Orthopaedic Surgeons in NZ were analysed statistically.
Seventy six percent of the surgeons guided their patients towards a particular procedure. Fifty five percent spent between 10% and 25% of their consultation time on obtaining informed consent. Forty eight percent of the surgeons felt that the patient did not have sufficient autonomy to choose to undergo a particular procedure, while 76% felt that it was impractical to offer all necessary information needed for that patient to choose the procedure.
Although the length of time that a surgeon had been in practice did not influence the practice of obtaining consent or his/her opinion of the patient’s self autonomy, the degree of his/her specialisation did (P< 0.05). There was no correlation between the time spent on obtaining consent and the degree of specialisation. There was a very strong correlation between the surgeon’s belief in patient autonomy, the practicality of offering all the necessary information and the method of obtaining consent (P< 0.0001).
The majority of Orthopaedic Surgeons in NZ do not believe it was practical to offer all the necessary information to a patient and to expect that patient to be fully autonomous in choosing to undergo a particular procedure. This indicates that it is time for re-evaluation of the practice of modern day informed consent based on its original concept.
The abstracts were prepared by Editorial Secretary Jean-Claude Theis. Correspondence should be addressed to NZOA at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dunedin Hospital, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin, New Zealand.
