Digital patient education
According to jurisprudence, every medical intervention is a factual assault. The existence of an offense of bodily harm indicates the unlawfulness of the medical intervention, which is only justified if the patient has given his consent. This is effective if the patient has been informed about the planned medical intervention in good time, whereby the doctor must in particular point out all the risks typical of the intervention and the risk consequences. For the attending physician, negligence in the informational discussion (and its documentation, cf. §§ 630f, 630h BGB) prove to be a "liability trap" in the event of damage.
The starting point
In many radiation therapies, paper forms are still used today in the informative discussion between doctor and patient, in which the patient data must be entered by hand. The doctor and patient have to sign the form at the end of the conversation. The signed form is used as consent to the upcoming operation and as proof that the clarification discussion took place. However, a subsequent change cannot be ruled out. The completed forms are then archived either as a physical form or as an electronic document after being scanned.
The patient-related documentation on paper basis has two main disadvantages: It is time-consuming and cumbersome - the desired file is rarely where it is needed in everyday clinical practice. Incorrectly sorted documents are virtually lost. In addition, this method is expensive - there are costs for paper, printer and the archiving required in radiation therapy for a period of 30 years.
Patient education will be digital in the future
With DigiConsent there are currently 25 long-term archivable PDF-A forms are available that enable completely digital information for all tumor entities and special procedures relevant to radiation therapy (e.g. stereotaxic or brachytherapy). The texts have been completely rewritten by radiation therapists with many years of experience and are clearly structured. They describe radiation therapy in a layman-understandable form and based on the current state of medical knowledge. Illustrations made according to the latest medical didactic points of view illustrate the often complex anatomical facts. Of course, the patient information sheets were legally checked by a specialist lawyer for medical law.
Existing patient data from specialist procedures can be included in the patient information sheets. Typing is reduced to a minimum. Legally required customizations, such as highlighting, arrows and markings, are made possible by Sign Live! CC Components easily possible. Additions can easily be added in free text fields. The patient's consent is given by handwritten electronic signature PDF-Form via a touch-sensitive screen surface with a specially designed pen. The attending physician then signs the document electronically with a signature card or his or her medical professional ID (eHBA) as shown above.
While the patient information sheet is being filled out, a work log is automatically created in the background. This is saved in the patient information sheet and lists what is in when PDF-Form was filled out or when the patient information sheet was signed. Long-term archiving is achieved through automatic conversion into a PDF-A format guaranteed.