Table 1.

Advantages and disadvantages of e-Consent

Advantages	Disadvantages
Avoids physical attendance	Patients may be unfamiliar with electronic device use—increasing the digital divide and decreasing diversity of recruitment
Requires fewer human resources	Privacy concerns if not properly set-up
Requires less physical space	Could introduce selection bias towards younger patients and those with higher education
Can be deployed to any number of devices	May decrease equitable access to trials across the socioeconomic spectrum
Allows patients to answer in a safe space	Relies on patient access to electronic devices, email, and Internet connection
Can adapt to patient-specific disabilities
Scalable
Reduces travel-associated costs and reduces carbon footprint
Reduces risk of contagion of infectious diseases
Integrated hard stops prevents missing fields
Increases traceability
Removes postage cost
Removes possibility of transcription errors
Absence of time pressure