Are consent forms used in cardiology clinics easy to read?

Abstract

Objective: Informed consent forms are a contract between the patient and the doctor before the medical diagnosis and treatment. It is extremely important that the patient can read and understand such forms. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the readability levels of consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiology used in cardiology clinics. Methods: The number of words, syllables, letters, and characters of 20 consent forms that are used in cardiology clinics were calculated. The readability scores were calculated by using the formulas of Ateşman and Bezirci–Yılmaz. Results: It was found that the cardiology consent forms were readable at the 11th or 12th grade according to the Ateşman Index and at the high school level according to the Bezirci–Yılmaz Index. Conclusion: We suggest that the informed consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiology must be simplified from the level that requires high school education to the level that requires 6 years of education, which is the average schooling year in Turkey.