Informed consent for steroid drops

[bucknut101]

Inspired by Dr Doan's return and desire to revive this forum thought I'd post this to start some discussion.
Got a flyer in the mail about an upcoming conference and one of the topics to be discussed is limiting your malpractice risk. And one of the subtopics they are going to cover is informed consent for steroid drops.
What do the rest of you do when starting steroid drops on patients. I do discuss with them the risk of glaucoma and cataracts and the importance of returning for appointments to monitor for these side effects. But does anybody actually have them sign informed consent forms?
Clearly steroid drops are indicated and necessary in some cases but often can be considered elective. For example, I saw a patient last year was being treated for blepharitis with Tobradex who came in with a painful eye and an IOP of 45.
Thoughts?

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[MR1]

This stuff drives me nuts, our medico-legal environment is so bad we now have to get consents signed for starting medications. Will every physician be doing this in the future? Not like we have a ton of time to devote to this in clinic.

On a side, I did read something about getting informed consent for starting immune modulating therapy, ie Cellcept, etc.

I hope things dont' get to this point

 

[Visionary]

Never consent for any sort of gtts, only injections. No need. Just discuss that the IOP may go up and cataracts may progress more quickly. Do IM docs have patients sign consent forms for their BP meds, when they may pass out from positional hypotension? There's a reason for package inserts. Fact about consents is they provide essentially zero protection from malpractice suits. Be nice and open with your patients. Admit errors and answer all questions. That's the best way to protect yourself.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

No consent needed for drops, BUT do not let your patients fall through the cracks.

Follow-up after surgery, and particularly LASIK, is essential. I have seen steroid-induced glaucoma because lack of follow-up and intervention resulting in malpractice.