Human being are very fond of signing papers with out reading the purpose of the paper first or understanding the full meaning of the consent. I definitely can speak for myself, because I never read anything that I sign for, and even if I do its just a quick skim through. In the article that I read “Informed consent-What Information? What consent” by Deborah Franklin talks about consent forms that we have to sign at the hospital before a procedure can take place unless its and emergency.
These consents forms consist of all the pros, cons and alternatives that a patient should know beforehand. Dr. Constantine Manthous doesn’t believe that paper consent is the way to go, “Getting truly informed consent means you have explained what the procedure is, and the risks, benefits and alternatives. ” (Franklin, 260) According to the National Adult Literacy Survey shows that twenty one percent of adults in the US has the reading level of under a sixth grader and another twenty seven percent “Lack the proficiency needed to navigate the health care system easily. (Franklin, 261)
In this case we now have about a quarter of the people in the US that just go to the hospital and sign for things they have no clue about, and that is why it would be better for doctors to have full hands on conversation with patients before they are given any consent to sign. This is why I believe that Doctors should be a hundred percent in tune with their patients whether they are illiterate or not.
This is why Dr. Alan Tait from the university of Michigan, has been working on a different form of consent, which would break down that three pages of paper that you have to sign, into a more simpler way of understanding, by either using DVD’s or interactive audio tapes that can navigate the patients step by step, and allowing them to acquire a better understanding of the hospital consent form.