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  • Creating Video Resources to Enhance Patients' Understanding and Augment Informed Consent

    At AAO 2015, the Academy continued its overhaul of patient education materials with the launch of more than 40 new patient education videos. These and the 21 titles launched in 2014 are all available in both English and Spanish, allowing physicians to more effectively communicate with a broader range of patients.

    These updates address the issue of low patient-literacy rates, which contribute to poor compliance. By enhancing patient understanding, the Academy hopes these new tools will improve compliance and decrease vision loss that costs the economy billions of dollars a year.

    The Academy’s new patient education videos comprise the most extensive patient education materials among American medical specialty societies.

    Studies show that patients forget up to 80 percent of what their physician tells them.1 Videos increase how much information patients remember by almost 25 percent.2 Videos also help relieve patients' anxiety, improve their preparedness and increase satisfaction.3,4

    The Academy’s new short-format videos explain common eye conditions’ treatment options, benefits and risks. They are organized into five collections: cataract and refractive surgery, glaucoma, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology and retina. The videos supplement information provided in the informed-consent process and meet the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company’s standards for informed-consent messaging.

    The new video collections also help physicians meet requirements for federal meaningful use reporting. Ophthalmologists who use electronic health record systems that hold licensing agreements with the Academy can integrate the materials in their EHR to qualify.

    Purchase the Academy’s newly revised patient education videos, handouts, brochures and booklets in the Academy Store.

    1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539473/
    2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20173276
    3 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22789149
    4 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22464659