Informed consent guidelines for ionising radiation examinations: A Delphi study.

Introduction: Informed consent for ionising radiation medical imaging examinations is currently undertaken inconsistently in Australian radiographic practice. There is no uniform informed consent process, and opinions vary about how it should be undertaken, and by whom, if indeed it needs to be undertaken at all. To ensure that patients' rights are maintained, the informed consent process must be consistent, proactive in the provision of information, and must empower the patient to formulate and ask questions about their care, and to make voluntary decisions.

Barriers and pathways to informed consent for ionising radiation imaging examinations: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Informed consent for ionising radiation medical imaging examinations represents a recent change to medical imaging practice. This practice has not had a definitive and authoritative integration into clinical practice, and lack of direction has caused many health care professionals to be unsure of an appropriate consent methodology. Consent practices have been undertaken inconsistently and sometimes poorly.

Describing ionising radiation risk in the clinical setting: A systematic review.

Introduction: Meaningfully explaining the risk of an ionising radiation examination is a challenging undertaking. Patients must contextualise the risk against the expected benefit of the imaging examination, often in a situation of heightened emotion. This systematic review seeks to explore the literature to identify what techniques are advocated for disclosing the risk to patients of ionising radiation from clinical medical imaging examinations.

Medical imaging and informed consent - Can radiographers and patients agree upon a realistic best practice?

Introduction: For radiographers, gaining informed consent with our patients represents a challenging undertaking. Reconciling the need to gain meaningful consent with time pressures represents one challenge, as does differing expectations of how risk communication should be undertaken. Different methods and thresholds of risk disclosure are considered, with the aim of finding a realistic best practice.

Ionising radiation risk disclosure: When should radiographers assume a duty to inform?

Introduction: Autonomy is a fundamental patient right for ethical practice, and informed consent is the mechanism by which health care professionals ensure this right has been respected. The ethical notion of informed consent has evolved alongside legal developments. Under Australian law, a provider who fails to disclose risk may be found to be in breach of a duty of disclosure, potentially facing legal consequences if the patient experiences harm that is attributable to an undisclosed risk.