Dhillon A, Tardini F, Bittner E, Schmidt U, Allain R, Bigatello L. Benefit of using a “bundled” consent for intensive care unit procedures as part of an early family meeting. J Crit Care. 2014 Dec;29(6):919-22.

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PURPOSE: Relatives of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are often dissatisfied with family-physician communication. Our prospective preintervention and postintervention study tested the hypothesis that introducing this informed consent process would improve family satisfaction with the ICU process of care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a consent form that included an introductory explanation of the main ICU interventions and a description of 8 common procedures in a surgical ICU. We administered it early in the ICU course during a scheduled family meeting. The study was a prospective preintervention and postintervention design.

RESULTS: The “Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit” (FS-ICU) score was higher in the intervention than in the control group (95.4 ± 4 vs 78.2 ± 22, P < .001). The nursing perception of satisfaction with care was also higher in the intervention group (95.8 ± 13 vs 71.9 ± 28, P < .001).

CONCLUSION: A bundled informed consent resulted in higher family satisfaction with the process of care in ICU.