Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust staff and patients are enjoying improved decision making and consent confirmation for a wide range of medical treatments following the introduction of the eConsent software solution.
eConsent recently went live at Liverpool Women’s, a specialist hospital providing care for women, babies and families in conjunction with its new Electronic Patient Record.
The hospital has launched the Magentus solution to enhance information sharing and consent confirmation across more than 100 different procedures in a range of medical specialties.
The cloud-hosted solution will support about 1,150 clinical users and ensure patients have been fully informed and consented to planned procedures at the hospital, which delivers over 7,500 babies every year as well as carrying out around 50,000 gynaecological procedures.
The digitised consent process allows patients to receive all the information they need ahead of the procedure and helps them understand all the risks and benefits before making a decision.
eConsent enables consent forms to be created dynamically, automatically populating relevant clinical risks and benefits and providing the most relevant clinical information based on individual patients and their planned procedure.
Improved accuracy
The new digital approach supported by eConsent also improves accuracy by replacing the previous laborious process of manually filling in consent forms, which were often incomplete and missed vital details.
Richard Glynn-Jones, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust Programme Manager, said:
“eConsent is improving patient experiences, saving consultant time and standardising the information delivered during the consent to treatment process.
“The digital service supports shared decision making by clinicians and compliance with General Medical Council guidelines requiring doctors to ensure patients are aware of all risks.
“Patients can now review their digital consent form and information leaflets in their own time, signing it at home or by attending a scheduled virtual clinic with their clinician.”
Robert Miller, Magentus CEO (EMEA), said:
“The eConsent solution is so important because it accurately documents the shared decision-making process that is so crucial to quality patient care.
“As an easy-to-use solution providing clear documentation and ready access, it helps to accurately share the most important details at every step of the way and helps lead to better patient outcomes.
“We look forward to Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust experiencing the same degree of improvement in the process and patient satisfaction that other Trusts using eConsent have experienced.”
eConsent benefits for patients and carers
- Clear information about the procedure, risks, benefits and alternatives
- Consultations can focus on the patient rather than filling out the consent form
- The system can ensure that consent is obtained by people who are trained to explain the specific procedure
- Patients receive information sooner so have more time to consider options and get more information
Benefits for staff obtaining consent
- Reduction in the time staff spend filling out forms
- Staff have a checklist helping them to identify risks, benefits and alternatives for each procedure
- Patient information can be accessed quickly during the consultation
Benefits for Trusts
- Standardised approach enabling clinical practices to be audited and compliance with risk management standards
- Patient information leaflets and consent forms cost less to produce and distribute
- Information and processes across multiple sites and departments are standardised and all information is legible
- Archived consent and information forms used during the consultation can be easily retrieved
- Progress towards paperless status
