Recent Journal Articles

Revamped Informed Consent Puts the Patient at the Center
Hospitals & Health Networks (July 2010)
Review article discusses current best practices in the shared decision-making process.  Ellen Fox, MD, Chief Ethics in Health Care Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, cites the VA’s use of the iMedConsent™ application – “a customized computer program that holds thousands of informed consent forms and medical information, and supports an interactive, computer-driven informed consent process, allowing for discussion between physician and patient”.

Enhancement of Surgical Informed Consent by Addition of Repeat Back: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Annals of Surgery (July 2010)
Study by Aaron Fink, MD, FACS, and others evaluates the use of repeat-back or teach-back during the informed consent process (National Quality Forum-endorsed Safe Practice 5).  The researchers found that repeat-back improves patient comprehension, adds an average of only 2.6 minutes to the informed consent discussion, and is not viewed unfavorably by providers.  This prospective, randomized, multicenter study was facilitated by the iMedConsent™ application.
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

Predictors of Comprehension during Surgical Informed Consent
Journal of the American College of Surgeons (June 2010)
The study examines predictors of patient comprehension during the informed consent process.  Data collection in the 7-site, prospective, randomized study was facilitated by the iMedConsent™ application.  Aaron Fink, MD, FACS and his colleagues found that two significant predictors of comprehension were the length of time spent during the informed consent process and the use of the repeat-back technique to gauge patient understanding (NQF-endorsed Safe Practice 5).
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

VA Strengthens Critical Safety Procedure
Health Management Technology (April 2010)
The use of iMedConsent™ application to automate the “time-out” process at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and Providence VA Medical Center (PVAMC) is highlighted in this case study.

Enhancing Patient Safety by Automating Discharge Instructions
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (Jan-Feb 2010)
Authored by executives from the Portland VA Medical Center, this article explores the benefits of utilizing an automated informed consent application to manage procedure-specific discharge instructions.  A resulting reduction in hospital readmission rate with use of this system is reported.

Improving the Use of Advance Directives
Hospitals & Health Networks (January 19, 2010)
Authored by Fay Rozovsky, JD, MPH, this article stresses the need for and benefits of advance directives.  The cost to hospitals of patients who do not have accessible advance directives is discussed.  The use of an automated approach to preparing and accessing advance directives in all VA medical centers is reviewed.

Informed Patients, Improved Safety
ADVANCE for Health Information Executives (September 2, 2009)
Charlotte Feldman, BSN, RN explores a multipronged approach that providers can take to ensuring that patients are more active participants in their treatment decisions.  The author describes the use of the iMedConsent™ application to prepare patient education documents and benchmarks the medical literacy level of content supplied by that automated tool to both the institution’s patients and to other sources patient education materials.

Automation Underscores Importance of Informed Consent Process in the ASC
Becker's ASC Review (May 11, 2009)
Authored by James Gottesman, MD, this article highlights the unique challenges associated with the informed consent process in the ambulatory surgery community.  Dr. Gottesman highlights how automation can reduce risk and improve this critical process.

Filling in the Blanks
Health Management Technology (May 2009)
Resurrection Health Care’s selection, implementation and use of the iMedConsent™ application is highlighted in this case study by Alane Repa, System Director of Risk Management, for Resurrection Health Care.

Informed Consent Key
Healthcare IT News (February 2, 2009)
Fay Rozovsky, JD, MPH, a recognized expert on informed consent, comments on how changes to the Universal Protocol emphasize the patient safety impact of thorough and well-documented informed consent.

Preventing Surgical Errors
Hospitals & Health Networks (January 6, 2009)
Authored by John Frenzel, MD (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center) and Timothy Kelly (Dialog Medical), this article educates readers on the changes to Universal Protocol and provides commentary on the importance of the informed consent process in reducing wrong site/wrong procedure/wrong patient surgery.

Dialog Medical Helps Practices Avoid Legal Nightmares
Healthcare Finance News (June 1, 2008)
Report examines the potential impact of reducing medical malpractice risk and risk of wrong-site surgery through use of the iMedConsent™ application.  The observations of David Arnold, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Steven E. Stark, Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Miami, are presented.

Informed Consent for Rapport and Communication
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (May-June 2008)
Article reviews the issue of disclosure.  James Gottesman, MD notes that disclosure of disappointing or unfavorable outcomes is extremely difficult if the communication process did not start prior to commencing the treatment or procedure.  Dr. Gottesman presents the case for making preemptive disclosure an integral part of the informed consent process.  Specific examples of using the iMedConsent™ application to better inform patients of operative risks are presented.

Automating the Informed Consent Process: Enhancing Care and Improving Patient Safety
Hematology & Oncology News & Issues (April 2008) 
Essay investigates the unique challenges associated with the informed consent process as it applies to oncology patients.  The authors note that an automated informed consent solution is particularly useful for oncology patients who typically see many providers in several different settings.  The unique benefits resulting from interfacing an electronic informed consent application to the OR scheduling software and to the pathology database at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are examined.

Wrapping Safety Around Patients
Health Data Management (April 1, 2008)
Review of new technologies specifically designed to improve patient safety.  The use of the iMedConsent™ application at the University of Miami Hospital is examined.  David Arnold, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, cites the utility of the iMedConsent™ application for confirming patient and family understanding of the planned treatment.  The ability of that informed consent tool to provide that information in Spanish to better serve the needs of the facility’s Hispanic population is also noted.

In Practice: Do As I Say … Pretty Please?
Physicians Practice (March 2008)
Article explores the challenges posed by noncompliant patients and strategies for inducing those patients to assume a more active role in their own healthcare.  Use of the iMedConsent™ application in a urology practice to both improve patient compliance, and protect the physician in the event of litigation, is cited.

Automation Helps Ensure Consent is Truly 'Informed'
Ophthalmology Times (March 15, 2008)
Article reviews how automating the informed consent process using the iMedConsent™ application is enhancing patient safety and reducing risk at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  Sonia Yoo, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, describes the utility of instant access to a detailed, signed, procedure-specific consent during the pre-operative “time-out” process.

Consent Forms That Patients Can Understand
The Wall Street Journal (February 6, 2008)
Article explores the limitations of most consent forms and the pressure being applied to hospitals by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and by the Joint Commission to make the informed consent process more patient-friendly and forms easier to understand.  The Department of Veterans Affairs describes their experience with the iMedConsent™ application and the subsequent reduction in lost or misplaced forms with use of Dialog Medical's automated system.  Examples of the iMedConsent™ application in use are included.

Consent Redux
Health Management Technology (February 2008)
Case study examines the process by which an Illinois medical center addressed challenges with CMS compliance by automating the informed consent process.  Mary Jean Derreberry, BSN, RNC, Director of the Surgical, Ambulatory Care and Pain Clinic, describes CGH Medical Center's search for a software solution and why they ultimately settled on the iMedConsent™ application.  Benefits realized included:  a more compliant process, enhanced physician-staff and physician-patient communication, and reduced risk of errors.

Tech Talk - Augment Your Consents
MGMA Connexion (January 2008)
Article reviews the limitations associated with the traditional informed consent process and the benefits of automating that process for medical group practices.  Neil Baum, MD, a New Orleans-based urologist reviews how an automated informed consent and patient education tool allowed him to continue to supply his patients with vital materials when he was forced to temporarily relocate his practice in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Addressing CMS Compliance and Patient Safety with Automated Informed Consent
Most Wired (December 2007)
Essay examines the new CMS guidelines on informed consent and the unique compliance issues those interpretive guidelines present for hospitals.  Authored by Fay Rozovsky, JD, MPH and Timothy Kelly, this piece reviews strategies for automating the informed consent process that resolve compliance concerns while simultaneously adding protections that enhance patient safety.

VA Re-Ups for Informed Consent App
Health Data Management (December 20, 2007)
Breaking news article announcing the Department of Veterans Affairs decision to renew the contract to utilize Dialog Medical’s informed consent software.  Terms of the agreement are for one year followed by nine option years.

The VA Hospital Strives to Do No Harm
Risk Management Magazine (October 2007)
Article describes a novel approach to improving patient safety by leveraging Dialog Medical's iMedConsent™ application.  Mary Lou Faustina, RN, MS, and Mary Montufar, RN, MS, clinical application coordinators for the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, detail a strategy for employing information obtained during the informed consent process to confirm correct patient, correct procedure, and correct site during the preoperative "Time Out."

Informed Consent - Weathering the Perfect Storm
Health Management Technology (August 2007)
Article looks at the influential factors that are elevating the importance of informed consent for healthcare institutions. Those factors include the recently revised CMS guidelines, accreditation considerations, and risk management concerns. Coauthored by Margaret Reiter, a CNO from the St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, the article includes a case study of St. Luke's experience with implementing an automated informed consent solution, the iMedConsent™ application.

Vendor Notebook - Dialog Medical
Healthcare IT News (July 2007)
Coverage of Dialog Medical's announced new contract for its iMedConsent™ application with Resurrection Health Care, an eight-hospital system serving the Chicago area.

The 411 on Informed Consent
For the Record (July 2007)
Article details the new CMS Guidelines for Informed Consent - revised in April 2007. The results of a study that documented increased patient satisfaction with use of the iMedConsent™ application is presented. An itemized list of reasons for hospitals to automate their informed consent processes is presented.

Dialog Medical Unveils New Spanish Language Module
Advance for Health Information Executives (April 2007)
News brief describing Dialog Medical's addition of a Spanish language module to its iMedConsent™ application. Through this module, healthcare organizations have access to informed consent and patient education documents that are customized for Spanish-speaking Americans.

Automated Informed Consent Improves Patient Care and Safety
Group Practice Journal (March 2007)
Article examines how an automated informed consent process can benefit group practices in the areas of patient safety and quality of care. James E. Gottesman, MD, a practicing urologist in Seattle and a clinical professor of urology at the University of Washington Medical School, provides of thoughtful case study describing the benefits a comprehensive informed consent tool, such as the iMedConsent™ application, can have on patient satisfaction.
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

Informed consent: Use it to improve care, reduce risk
Urology Times (February 2007)
Article notes that the average urologist will be named as a defendant in a medical malpractice suit at least twice in his or her career. The authors, Neil H. Baum, MD, and Robert A. Dowling, MD, examine how implementation of an automated informed consent application can reduce urologists' risk from these lawsuits.

Automated Informed Consent Helps Healthcare Organizations Respond to New JCAHO Survey Tactics
Journal of Health Care Compliance (January/February 2007)
Article outlines the new Joint Commission survey processes of unannounced audits and tracer surveys. The authors, Michele Krajewski, Joan DiOrio, Irynne Sixon and Rose Dooley Lester, explain how an automated informed consent application can benefit healthcare organizations during those Joint Commission surveys. The experiences of several hospitals, which implemented the iMedConsent™ application and then completed their Joint Commission audits, are presented.
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

New CMS Guidelines Provide Incentive to Adopt Automated Informed Consent
Journal for Healthcare Quality (January/February 2007)
Article explores how technology can assist healthcare facilities in meeting the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidelines for informed consent. Issues addressed include shortcomings in the traditional informed consent process, ways that technology can facilitate meeting these new guidelines, other compliance benefits - such as achieving compliance with Joint Commission requirements - and criteria that healthcare organizations should consider when choosing an automated informed consent solution.
(See pp. W1-11 through W1-16.)

Automate Informed Consent for Patient Involvement
Healthcare IT News (December 2006)
Article details the new 2007 JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals. One of those new patient safety goals is - encourage patients' active involvement in their own care. The author, James Gottesman, M.D., notes that the ideal opportunity for increasing patient involvement in their care plan occurs during the informed consent process. That process is dramatically enhanced by use of an automated informed consent tool, such as the iMedConsent™ application, to prepare detailed, procedure-specific consent forms and patient education materials for patients and their families.

Informed Consent: More Than a Form
The Journal of Medical Practice Management (November 2006)
Article describes informed consent as a process - not a piece of paper. Gives examples of how use of an automated informed consent application can enhance that process while generating detailed, procedure-specific informed consent forms that aid in patient understanding. The CMS requirements for a properly executed informed consent form are also detailed.
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

Physicians Aggressively Pursuing I.T.
Health Data Management (September 2006)
Article describes several instances where physicians have been the catalyst for major information technology initiatives within healthcare institutions. John Frenzel, M.D. describes a gap analysis conducted at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center that found the consent process to be a "stress point" for that institution. The decision of M. D. Anderson to integrate the iMedConsent™ application with its EMR to allow providers to easily confirm that patients have given their consent, and thus eliminate the challenges associated with locating consent forms prior to a case, is described.

Document Informed Consent Automatically
Outpatient Surgery (September 2006)
This Business Advisor discussion recommends an investment in software as a means to ensure that patient consent is truly informed and as a means to reduce malpractice risk. The results of a patient satisfaction study, involving the iMedConsent™ application, and conducted at Emory University Medical Center, are cited.

Informed Versus Uninformed Consent for Prostate Surgery: The Value of Electronic Consents
The Journal of Urology (August 2006)
Paper by Muta Issa, MD, MBA, Aaron Fink, MD, FACS, and other researchers from the Atlanta VA Medical Center and from Emory University describes a review of 222 urology procedures that were conducted over a 6-year period. The shortcomings of conventional, paper-based consent forms were compared with a new, standardized electronic consent system (iMedConsent™ application, Dialog Medical). Among the findings: 7.7% of the time the conventional consent forms were missing from the patient's chart; 49% of the handwritten, conventional consent forms failed to list a single alternative treatment or procedure; 96.1% of the patients, who had been exposed to both systems, reported that they preferred the electronic process over the paper-based process. Includes an accompanying editorial by Philip Hanno, MD, MPH of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania who remarks "The days of the traditional, nonstandardized consent form should be over…"
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

Medicare: When the Auditor Comes Calling
Physicians Practice (June 2006)
Article discusses how to respond to, and avoid, CMS audits. The importance of informed consent documentation to CMS auditors is discussed and the utility of an automated informed consent application from Dialog Medical is noted.

Informed Consent: Comprehension is the Key
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (May/June 2006)
Article describes the critical patient safety aspect of fully comprehended informed consent and the guidance provided by the National Quality Forum on strategies for achieving this goal. The utility of employing automated tools for ensuring patient understanding of contemplated procedures is discussed and screen shots of the Comprehension Check™ feature within the iMedConsent™ application are referenced.

Hospital Automates Consent Process
Health Data Management (May 2006)
Brief announcement of the decision by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to implement, enterprise-wide, the informed consent management software of Dialog Medical.

Deal! St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
HealthLeaders (May 2006)
Brief summary of St. Luke's Episcopal Health System need to streamline a cumbersome paper-based process of more than 80 forms and their decision to purchase the iMedConsent™ application from Dialog Medical.

A New Look at Informed Consent
Healthcare Financial Management (February 2006)
A comprehensive overview of how the current informed consent process works, what the ideal process should look like and how a standardized informed consent process can help prevent "big picture" business problems such as claims denials and malpractice law suits. A case study outlining the benefits of the iMedConsent™ application in the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center is included.
(Subscription required - reprints may be ordered from the journal via the link provided or by contacting Dialog Medical.)

Module Helps Verify Comprehension
Health Data Management (February 2006)
Announcement citing the ability of the iMedConsent™ software to document patient comprehension. The new Comprehension Check™ module incorporates recommendations from the National Quality Forum for confirming that patients understand their care. This key enhancement enables hospital staff to document a patient's comprehension of his or her diagnosis, proposed treatment, and anatomical location for a procedure, risks, and alternatives. The software then sends this information to a hospital's electronic medical records system to be stored within the patient's chart.

Automating Informed Consent
Outpatient Surgery (December 2005)
Report details how computer programs allow surgeons to scrap traditional fill-in-the-blank consent forms in favor of novel tools that tailor content for each patient and procedure. The iMedConsent™ PE application – the practice edition of the iMedConsent™ Enterprise software employed by over 160 hospitals – is discussed.

Informed Consent Enters a New Age
Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare (November/December 2005)
Authored by Mike Burke, Dialog Medical's President and Co-Founder, this article examines the limitations of traditional informed consent documents and the benefits afforded by automating that process. This piece examines the potential impact of a computerized informed consent tool on patient safety, reimbursement, risk management and regulatory compliance.

MD Anderson Evaluates the iMedConsent™ Application
Health Data Management (November 2005)
Cover story details the efforts of various institutions to integrate PACS with Electronic Records and mentions that some pieces of an EMR, such as a comprehensive informed consent solution, are best considered from firms specializing in that technology.

Advance Directives Module
Health Management Technologies (October 2005)
News brief highlights the iMedConsent™ Advanced Directives Module which facilitates the collection and documentation of patients' healthcare decisions.

Informed Consent: How Automation Can Protect Hospitals
Most Wired Online (September 2005)
Co-authored by Dialog Medical founder, Dr. Jim Gottesman, and iMedConsent user, Dr. Robert O’Hara, this online column looks at how the use of an automated informed consent application can help hospitals increase compliance, enhance efficiency and reduce malpractice risk.

Rethinking Informed Consent
Advance for Health Information Executives (August 2005)
Authored by Mike Burke, Dialog Medical's President and Co-Founder, this "guest editorial" looks at the tremendous role a standardized, automated informed consent process can play in improving patient safety.

Physician Involvement in I.T. Decisions
Health Data Management (July 2005)
Dr. Chad Ritenour (Emory University Department of Urology) discusses his role as an "evaluator" of iMedConsent in this special report on involving physicians in IT decisions.

VA Automates Patient Consent Forms
Healthcare IT News (June 2005)
Feature article explains how iMedConsent is helping facilities like the Durham VAMC meet the JCHAO's 2006 patient safety goals.

New Technology to Aid in Patient-Physician Dialogues
Hospitals and Health Networks (June 2005)
Article discusses the VA's technology solution--a program called iMedConsent--provides physicians with a digital library of informed consent forms in a step-by-step format.

Consent App Gets OK from VA Center
Health Data Management (April 2005)
The Atlanta VA Medical Center’s use of the iMedConsent™ application to improve patient health literacy is highlighted in this case study.

Consent with a Tech Twist
Physicians Practice (April 2005)
Authored by Dr. James E. Gottesman, Dialog Medical’s Medical Director and Co-Founder, this sidebar explains how technology can help physicians avoid the legal pitfalls of the informed consent process.

VA Patient Consent Goes Electronic
U.S. Medicine (February 2005)
Feature article describes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Support for Patient Decisions (ESPD) initiative. The evaluation, selection and customization of the iMedConsent™ application to support the ESPD initiative, and standardize the VA’s informed consent process, are described in detail.

Urologist finds success with forming a business on paper.
American Medical News (November 15, 2004)
Business profile explains how and why Dr. James E. Gottesman co-founded Dialog Medical.
(AMA Membership/Subscription required)

There's safety in being well informed
Health Data Management (August 2004)
Hines VA Medical Center’s use of the iMedConsent™ application is highlighted in this sidebar that accompanies a cover story about identifying and prioritizing patient safety efforts.

Patient Safety: Looking Beyond Medical Errors
Advance for Health Information Executives (July 19, 2004)
Authored by Mike Burke, Dialog Medical’s President and Co-Founder, this sidebar looks at the patient safety issues surrounding the informed consent process and highlights key of the benefits of standardizing the process.

VA consent form process shreds a paper-based approach
Healthcare IT News (July 2004)
Feature article outlines the details of Dialog Medical’s nationwide licensing agreement with the Veterans Healthcare Administration.

Spotlight on Dialog Medical
MD Net Guide (July 2004)
Corporate profile explains how the iMedConsent™ application functions and includes quotes from Deborah Skarda and Aaron Fink, MD from the Atlanta VA Medical Center.