In my lecture I discuss that in consenting patients are in fact performing an act of authorisation. To enable them to do so they require information and there must be effective communication. It is not simply a call for more or different information.

Its a call for a different way of viewing and structuring the process of soliciting consent. The emphasis is on assisting the patient to have a substantial understanding of what is at stake in the act of authorisation.

This is not discharged by the competent recital of a string of pertinent facts or handing out lists of complications attached to a well conceived consent form. Use of "feedback" testing may assist in assessing whether there is substantial understanding

One specific strategy is to ask patients to restate in their own words what has been disclosed to them. The readability of a consent form taken by itself says nothing about patient understanding. Effective communication strategies are needed