{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T22:57:31Z","timestamp":1791241051075,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Georg Thieme Verlag KG","issue":"05","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Arch Plast Surg"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The readability and length of informed consent forms have been debated for over three decades. Despite national guidelines promoting patient-friendly language, many forms fall short. This study compares the readability and content quality of informed consents from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and ChatGPT for common plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) procedures.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>ASPS consents for seven common PRS procedures were obtained online. ChatGPT was then queried to create equivalent consents. Readability was assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease Score, Flesch\u2013Kincaid Grade Level, and Lexical Density. Quality was graded using a modified National Quality Forum-based scale across domains: Procedure description, clinical rationale, patient-oriented benefit, quantitative and qualitative risks, and alternatives. Scores were compared between ASPS and ChatGPT consent forms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>ASPS versus ChatGPT conversion yielded mean Flesch scores of 30.09 versus 46.18 (p\u2009=\u20090.00003), grade levels of 13.59 versus 10.53 (p\u2009=\u20090.000004), and lexical densities of 56.7% versus 46.6% (p\u2009=\u20090.00008). Word count decreased by 81% after conversion. ASPS consents exceeded ChatGPT quality in three of seven procedures (by 12.8 percentage points on average), while ChatGPT exceeded ASPS in four of seven (by 25 points on average). Average quality scores were not significantly different (64.83% vs. 73.63%, p\u2009=\u20090.27).<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>ChatGPT improved the readability and brevity of PRS consent forms while maintaining accuracy. Readily available artificial intelligence (AI) tools may enhance descriptions of procedures, rationale, patient benefits, and quantitative risks, offering a practical tool to aid in patient\u2013provider communication.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2870-8035","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T22:51:42Z","timestamp":1783464702000},"page":"450-455","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Use of Artificial Intelligence to Improve Readability and Quality of Informed Consent Forms in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery"],"prefix":"10.1055","volume":"53","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4912-1519","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grace S.","family":"Ryu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, United States"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3610-5214","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grace","family":"Hwang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, United States"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9884-5893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Charles C.","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, United States","department":["Division of Plastic Surgery Department of Surgery"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2030-0460","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timothy S.","family":"Johnson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, United States","department":["Division of Plastic Surgery Department of Surgery"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"194","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"reference":[{"issue":"04","key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2110848","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.10848","article-title":"Informed consent-We can and should do better","volume":"4","author":"S C Grant","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"issue":"05","key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"533","DOI":"10.1503\/cmaj.112120","article-title":"Informed consent for clinical treatment","volume":"184","author":"D E Hall","year":"2012","journal-title":"CMAJ"},{"issue":"02","key":"ref4","first-page":"e18161","article-title":"Readability of patient education materials on the American Association for Surgery of Trauma website","volume":"3","author":"A E Eltorai","year":"2014","journal-title":"Arch Trauma 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prevention and control","volume":"6","author":"S S Coughlin","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Environ Health Sci"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1177\/21501319231156132","article-title":"Health literacy, health outcomes and equity: A trend analysis based on a population survey","volume":"14","author":"N Keene Woods","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Prim Care Community Health"},{"issue":"04","key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1177\/009885880603200401","article-title":"Rethinking informed consent: the case for shared medical decision-making","volume":"32","author":"J S King","year":"2006","journal-title":"Am J Law Med"},{"issue":"11","key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2260","DOI":"10.1097\/CORR.0000000000002668","article-title":"Can artificial intelligence improve the readability of patient education materials?","volume":"481","author":"G J Kirchner","year":"2023","journal-title":"Clin Orthop Relat Res"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e55204","DOI":"10.2196\/55204","article-title":"Readability of information generated by ChatGPT for hidradenitis suppurativa","volume":"7","author":"L Gawey","year":"2024","journal-title":"JMIR Dermatol"},{"issue":"06","key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"893","DOI":"10.1177\/15589447241247332","article-title":"Evaluation of patient education materials from large-language artificial intelligence models on carpal tunnel release","volume":"20","author":"B J Croen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Hand (N Y)"},{"issue":"01","key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1038\/s41746-024-01039-2","article-title":"Bridging the literacy gap for surgical consents: an AI-human expert collaborative approach","volume":"7","author":"R Ali","year":"2024","journal-title":"NPJ Digit Med"},{"issue":"03","key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mcpdig.2023.06.002","article-title":"Plastic surgery and artificial intelligence: How CHATGPT improved Operation Note Accuracy, time, and Education","volume":"1","author":"A M Abdelhady","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mayo Clin Proc Digit Health"},{"issue":"05","key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e033299","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2019-033299","article-title":"Quality of informed consent documents among US. hospitals: a cross-sectional study","volume":"10","author":"E S Spatz","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"issue":"02","key":"ref17","first-page":"109","article-title":"Exploring lexical density in the New York Times","volume":"7","author":"F R Kembaren","year":"2022","journal-title":"ELLITE"},{"issue":"05","key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"501","DOI":"10.1080\/10810730802202169","article-title":"A framework for health numeracy: how patients use quantitative skills in health care","volume":"13","author":"M M Schapira","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Health Commun"}],"container-title":["Archives of Plastic 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