Digitalisation is changing everyday practice – especially in patient education. The term informed consent has long stood for more than a signature on a consent sheet: it stands for a transparent, traceable and legally sound process that combines medical quality and patient trust.

With digital solutions such as the interplay of medudoc and Simpleprax, this aspiration becomes reality: an automated, continuous process from medical history through patient education to the digital declaration of consent – fully GDPR-compliant and without paper chaos.

Informed consent describes the patient’s consent given after comprehensive information by the physician. It is legally binding and forms the basis of every medical procedure. In Austria, it is governed by § 252 ABGB and the Patients’ Charter; the Austrian Physicians Act (§ 51 ÄrzteG) requires it to be documented.

But traditional paper forms, illegible signatures or missing documentation jeopardise not only legal protection but also patient safety. Digital patient education ensures that information, understanding and consent take place in a verifiable process – documented in a traceable, complete and legally sound way.

The digital route: from medical history to patient education

The cooperation between medudoc and Simpleprax provides a practical example of how modern patient education processes can be implemented:

  1. Digital medical history: patients fill in the medical history form online before the appointment – conveniently via link, QR code or practice tablet.
  2. Data integration: the information flows automatically into the practice management system (PMS), without manual entry or piles of paper.
  3. Personalised patient education: medudoc creates individually adapted patient education videos on planned procedures. The patient can find out about the procedure, ask questions and repeat content – making patient education more comprehensible and more lasting.
  4. Digital informed consent: the declaration of consent is signed digitally in a legally sound manner directly in the system.
  5. Automated documentation: all data, videos, signatures and forms are archived centrally – GDPR-compliant, tamper-proof and retrievable at any time.

This interplay eliminates media discontinuities and creates a continuous digital process chain from admission to documentation.

Workflow of legally compliant patient education combining Simpleprax and medudoc

Why digital patient education is the future

Every patient education process is documented digitally, versioned and stored in an audit-proof manner. Changes, signatures and time stamps make the entire process legally robust – a decisive advantage in disputes.

2. Increased efficiency

Video-assisted content provided in advance shortens the consent discussion: in a prospective study at University Hospital Würzburg, median physician discussion time before cholecystectomy fell by 81% (Leicht et al., World J Surg 2026). In addition, paper processes, follow-up questions and manual entries are no longer needed.

3. Cost savings

Automated processing reduces material and staff costs: printing, scanning and manual transfer are no longer necessary, and physician time is freed up for individual questions. How large the savings are depends on the practice’s case numbers and previous workflow.

4. Patient satisfaction

Patients understand their treatment better because they can take in content that is adapted visually and linguistically. This increases trust and improves the physician–patient relationship.

5. Reputational gain

Digital patient education demonstrates a forward-looking approach and signals modern, patient-oriented practice management – a strong differentiator in the healthcare market.

For the digital process to be legally sound, certain requirements must be met:

  • Voluntariness and being informed: the patient must receive and understand all relevant information and consent without pressure.
  • Proof of patient education: the physician must be able to prove that the patient education was complete in content – digital logs and videos provide evidential value here.
  • Data protection: all patient data must be processed in accordance with the GDPR. Systems such as Simpleprax use encrypted transmission and secure server locations within the EU.
  • Electronic signature: digital signatures must meet the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation in order to be legally valid.
  • Data integrity: it must not be possible to alter documents subsequently; every change must be logged in a traceable manner.

Only if these points are observed is digital informed consent equivalent to paper-based consent.

Proven practice: an example from ophthalmology

An example from ophthalmology illustrates the potential: Dr. med. Arash Zarkesh was looking for a flexible solution for digital patient education. With medudoc, he was able to use personalised videos and digital declarations of consent – the result: noticeable relief in everyday practice, satisfied patients and error-free documentation.

“Many software solutions cannot be adapted sufficiently to the individual processes of a practice. For my work, I wanted a flexible solution that I can use in many ways. With medudoc, I have found a provider that exceeded my expectations.” – Dr. med. Arash Zarkesh

The connection to Simpleprax also enabled automated filing and integration into the practice software. The entire process – from the first data entry to the archived patient education – now runs fully digitally and in a legally sound manner.

Video on YouTube: Overview of lens types in cataract surgery

Implementation: how to make the switch

Check system integration: interfaces to the existing PMS are crucial to avoid duplicate entries.

Train the team: medical assistants should be trained in handling tablets, QR codes and digital forms.

Adapt patient communication: not every patient is comfortable with digital tools – a hybrid offering (digital + paper) can ease transition phases.

Update the data protection concept: new processes must be integrated into existing data protection management.

Start a pilot phase: test first with selected treatments before switching over the entire practice.

The future of patient education is digital, personalised and legally sound. Systems such as medudoc and Simpleprax create the framework for this: they combine medical responsibility with modern technology.

This does not weaken informed consent – it strengthens it, through transparency, traceability and verifiability. For patients, this means more trust; for physicians, less risk and more efficiency.

Practices that inform patients digitally today not only secure their legal position, but also place themselves at the forefront of modern, patient-centred medicine.