Patient rights and consent form language about intraoperative audiovisual recording
Surgical Endoscopy, 2025
Intraoperative recordings may improve surgical quality and education, but patients are not always informed about their use. This study analyzed consent forms from 104 U.S. hospitals and found that 70 contained text about procedural recording. Of these, nearly all mentioned recording modality and purpose but 54% and 14% explained patient safeguards and rights, respectively. The language was also too complex, written at a college reading level instead of the recommended middle school level. Our findings highlight the need for clearer, more complete consent materials to better inform patients about intraoperative recordings.
Recommended citation: Habib DRS, Prasad K, Aweeda M, Lin G, Bishay AE, Gao Y, Liu D, Langerman A. Patient rights and consent form language about intraoperative audiovisual recording. Surg Endosc. 2025. doi:10.1007/s00464-025-12010-x