I want to tell you how we select our patients. We have our own network of clinics managed by industry professionals – optometrists and orthoptists – where patients come for treatment. Their job is to select the patient and understand what their problems are.
The patient is then placed into a diagnostic and therapeutic pathway, and the main specialized examinations are performed to understand what condition they have. If the patient wants to be examined by me, an appointment is scheduled. Then, at that location, I analyze the tests performed by my colleagues. If the tests are incomplete, we finish performing the missing examinations.
After that, through a consultation with the patient and an ophthalmological examination, we try to understand what their problems are and what the prospects are for solving them. At this point, the patient has a complete picture of what their condition is, what their problems are, and what the surgical or therapeutic prospects are.
If the solution is surgical or if it’s a solution that can be performed with laser, we explain to the patient what the possibilities are, what the risks are, what the benefits are, and then informed consent is introduced, which is an essential part of modern medical-surgical practice.
The informed consent is explained by me to the patient in its critical aspects, then I leave it with them and the patient has all the time to read it and possibly raise questions with me either via email or by phone, or possibly through an additional consultation.
It’s important that the patient is made aware of what the risks and benefits of the procedure are. Naturally, we must try to explain it to them in a simple way, because our informed consent forms, which are taken from the Italian Ophthalmological Society, are nonetheless made up of many pages and many words, and the patient just gets frightened. We actually need to try to simplify and explain what the real risks and benefits of the procedure actually are.
If the patient agrees to the procedure, then they must sign the consent, complete it, and deliver it to the doctor.
