Video‐Assisted Versus Conventional Surgical Informed Consent in Visceral Surgery—A Cluster Quasi‐Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive informed consent is a core surgical responsibility but is increasingly challenged by rising patient volumes and limited personnel resources. Digital solutions in healthcare offer opportunities to optimize patient education. Video-assisted informed consent may reduce time expenditure without compromising informational quality. The objective was to compare video-assisted with conventional informed consent regarding duration, patient understanding, patient, and physician satisfaction. METHODS: In this prospective, cluster quasi-randomized clinical trial at the University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany (September 2023-March 2025), 153 of 330 screened patients scheduled for elective cholecystectomy or colon resection were enrolled. The intervention group received a video developed by medudoc education GmbH, while the control group received physician-led informed consent according to the hospital's standard. Consultation duration was recorded using a stopwatch. Patients completed questionnaires on satisfaction and understanding immediately after consent and postoperatively, physicians rated satisfaction at study completion. The primary outcome was time reduction for the physician consultation time. Secondary outcomes included patient understanding, patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and postoperative pain. RESULTS: Of 153 participants, 84 (55%) received video-assisted and 69 (45%) conventional consent. Median physician consultation time was significantly reduced with video assistance for cholecystectomy (1.5 vs. 8.1 min) and colon resection (3.3 vs. 11.9 min). Patient understanding, satisfaction, and postoperative pain outcomes were high in both groups. Physician satisfaction with the video-assisted process was consistently high. CONCLUSIONS: Video-assisted surgical informed consent serves as a valuable adjunct in preoperative patient education and represents a promising approach to digital innovation in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN26680260 (https://www.isrctn.com/search?q=ISRCTN26680260).