Efficiency of video-presented information about excimer laser treatment on ametropic patients' knowledge and satisfaction with the informed consent process

Purpose: To evaluate whether the presentation of a video within the informed consent consultation affects patient knowledge about refractive excimer laser treatment, satisfaction with the informed consent process, anxiety in respect to the planned surgery, and the consultation duration. Setting: Tertiary referral center, Lucerne, Switzerland. Design: Single-center, randomized controlled trial. Methods: Consenting eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive either a conventional face-to-face consultation (conventional group) or a conventional consultation with additional video-assisted information (interventional group). Knowledge and satisfaction with the informed consent process and anxiety regarding surgery were assessed. Differences between groups were tested with Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and Student t tests. Results: The study comprised 113 patients (58 in the conventional group and 55 in the interventional group). There was no difference in terms of knowledge with 22/25 points (interquartile range [ION, 3) in the conventional group versus 22/25 points (IQR, 2) in the interventional group (P = .957), satisfaction with the informed consent ("very satisfied": 47/58 versus 45/55; P = .915) and anxiety toward surgery with a median 8 (IQR, 4) versus median 9 (IQR, 3; P = .159). In the interventional group, however, the total consultation time was significantly lower than in the conventional group (-4.96 minutes; 95% CI, -9.50 to -0.43; P = .032). Conclusion: Compared with a conventional consultation, video assistance slightly reduced the total consultation time while maintaining patient knowledge, satisfaction with the informed consent process, and anxiety regarding the surgery on equal levels. Video-assistance could increase efficiency of clinical management on a double-digit percentage at an equal running cost compared with a conventional consultation. (C) 2018 ASCRS and ESCRS