Evaluation of the quality of the informed consent in the surgeries of 27 healthcare establishments of the Costa Rican social security in 2019

Abstract

Introduction: the objective of this study was to describe the level of compliance with the quality characteristics audited in the informed consent (IC) for major surgeries performed in the Costa Rican social security, in 2019. Methodology: a descriptive study was carried out, Retrospective documenting compliance with the quality of filling in the CI forms for major surgeries, in 27 Costa Rican social security establishments during the year 2019. In that year, 101,490 procedures performed were classified as major surgery. A random sample of 2,350 cases was selected, of which 2,343 (99.7%) were audited. Results: of the audited cases, 92.4% (n= 2,166) had compliance with the correct application of the IC form, 5.7 had partial compliance and, in 1.9% the IC document corresponding to the surgery audited was not found.   Of the 27 audited establishments, in 55% (n = 15) the IC was filled out correctly so that they achieved the required compliance (greater than 95%) according to the parameters set by the audit, while 45% (n = 12) did not. Conclusion: most of the major surgeries complied with the correct application of the IC form in social security; however, of the total of the audited establishments, about half did not reach the required level of compliance. The results of this audit should serve as the basis for action plans destined to correct the failures that can be documented, and in this way, contribute to the continuous improvement of the quality culture.