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and potential complications associated with the procedure. You also have to consider how you go about obtaining the consent. Keep these 4 points in mind. • Always have surgeons take the lead. Only surgeons can obtain consent, and they must do so in their offices, before the surgery. Ideally, patients should have a "thinking period," so the consent process should never be rushed; asking the patient for consent just before the anesthesia is about to be administered is not appropriate. If a patient has questions before the surgeon arrives, the nursing staff needs to find the surgeon so he can provide the answers. • Provide specifics. Some surgical facilities keep their consent forms intentionally vague, but specificity may be your friend. Consent should include a description of who is performing the surgery, if possible, so there would be no question if the patient were to say later on, "I con- sented to Dr. X, because he has this credential and that credential, but instead the surgery was performed by Dr. Y, who has no credentials." Does the patient face any special risks because he's going home after the procedure rather than to a hospital bed? If so, outline those risks in the consent form. Also, if the surgery changes mid-procedure from what the patient agreed to on the consent form, a modified consent may be needed from the patient's family or representative. • Never misrepresent. Obtaining informed consent based upon misrepresentations — say, knowingly exaggerating or misrepresenting a surgeon's credentials, training or experience — is just as egregious as not getting the patient's consent, because the consent is based on false pretenses. In either case, the physician may be held liable for failure to seek consent. In many jurisdictions, the claim may be con- sidered one of battery, and substantiating a battery claim requires nei- ther proof of negligence nor expert testimony; the unwanted contact and any damages that occur as a result will suffice. Medical Malpractice MM 2 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7