Informed consent and transesophageal echocardiography: A review of patient responses

Objective: To identify whether our pre-procedure discussion of the risks of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as well as documentation in the electronic medical record (EMR) met the standard of care for informed consent. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 500 patients who underwent a TEE at the Mayo Clinic Florida (MCF) requesting responses to questions that would identify how well the risks of the TEE procedure were discussed. Results: A positive response to the questions regarding the risks of TEE ranged from 75 to 95% and adequate documentation in the EMR revealed a 66% compliance rate. Conclusions: Individual physician and institutional commitment to informed consent at MCF is reflected in the very positive response to our questionnaire for meeting the criteria of informed consent; however, the documentation of the procedure discussion fell below the desired rate. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.