Video update: 8 June 2021. Article originally published 7 May 2021.
Patient understanding of angiography and angioplasty is often incomplete at the time of consent. Language barriers and time constraints are significant obstacles, particularly in the urgent setting.
Multi-language animations explaining angiography and angioplasty were introduced at nine district hospitals for patients with acute coronary syndrome before urgent transfer to a cardiac centre for their procedure.
Reported understanding of the reason for transfer, the procedure, its benefits and risks in 100 consecutive patients were recorded before introduction of the animations into practice (no animation group) and in 100 consecutive patients after their introduction (animation group). Patient understanding in the two groups was compared.
Results showed that understanding for the reason for transfer, the procedure, its benefits and risks was higher in the “animation” group. Use of animations explaining angiography and angioplasty is feasible before urgent inter-hospital transfer. The approach is not limited to cardiology and has the potential to be applied to all specialties in medicine.
Reference:
Wald DS, Casey-Gillman O, Comer K, Mansell JS, Teo H, Mouyis K, Kelham M, Chan F, Ahmet S, Sayers M, McCaughan V, Polenio N. Animation-supported consent for urgent angiography and angioplasty: a service improvement initiative. Heart. 2020 Nov;106(22):1747-1751. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2019-316227. Epub 2020 Mar 10. Erratum in: Heart. 2021 May;107(10):e3. PMID: 32156717; PMCID: PMC7656148.
