Many patients are unaware surgeons are simultaneously involved in multiple surgeries and many have reservations about the practice, according to Fox News.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, conducted a survey polling 1,454 people about their views on overlapping surgeries.
Here are four things to know:
1. Thirty-one percent said they strongly supported the practice once researchers described what it was.
2. After learning more about the practice, nearly 70 percent said overlapping surgeries are acceptable under certain circumstances including lower-risk procedures.
3. Almost 50 percent said surgeons should tell patients before they undergo a procedure which staff members, a trainee, senior surgeon or resident, will perform which aspect of their surgery.
4. Ninety-two percent said surgeons should document the part of the surgery they participated in.