SmartConsent: A Computerized Informed Consent for Patients

Communicating personalized information to patients about the risks, benefits and other critical information about dental disease and treatment is often difficult for providers. In this proposal we seek to develop a novel informed consent system that can accurately translate and communicate information to patients in a standardized and effective manner based on their diagnosis and prescribed treatment. We aim to integrate SmartConsent into the institutional electronic patient record (EPR). This research is translational as it seeks to determine how providers can better communicate information to patients so they can make appropriate decisions about dental treatments and options.

The advent of electronic health records allows an informed consent document to be automatically personalized based on a patient's demographic profile, literacy level, language preference, and prior medical history. A computerized consent also allows the presentation of information in a format beyond text such as through the use of multimedia. Further, in a computer-based consent, we can quickly test a patient's knowledge about a diagnosis and procedure to ensure that key information has been delivered. In this proposal we seek to discover if a computer-based informed consent is more effective in educating patients about common oral health disease and treatment (e.g., reason for extracting a tooth, causes of periodontal disease, risks associated with dental implants). We also seek to determine its feasibility in a real clinical practice by measuring time taken and impact on workflow compared to the traditional consent process.