Brief Educational Video Improves Patient Understanding of Mohs Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND Patient's retention and recall of material discussed in a medical consultation is often inadequate. OBJECTIVE To assess patient's knowledge, anxiety, and understanding of Mohs surgery after viewing a brief educational video. METHOD A prospective, investigator-blinded, randomized controlled trial of 120 consecutive patients before the first Mohs surgery procedure. Sixty subjects viewed an instructional video and 60 subjects did not. A survey was administered to both groups, measuring knowledge, anxiety, and understanding of Mohs surgery. RESULTS The video group scored higher than the control group on the knowledge portion of the survey (median score 78% vs 56%, p < .01), but there were no differences in anxiety or understanding scores between groups. The percentage of subjects who answered each knowledge question correctly was greater in the video group than in the control group. In the subgroup of patients who had not previously had a consultation with a Mohs surgeon, the video group had higher median knowledge scores (67% vs 44%, p < .01), higher median understanding scores (8 vs 6, p = .05), and lower median visual analogue anxiety scores (4 vs 6, p = .01) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION A brief educational video increases patient's knowledge of Mohs surgery. For patients who have not yet had a consultation with a Mohs surgeon, the video may also reduce anxiety.