Tag Archives: medical decisions

Featured Shared Decision Making Publications

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The DECISIONS Study: A Nationwide Survey of United States Adults Regarding 9 Common Medical Decisions

Posted on June 17, 2013 by
This article describes a survey of 3,010 adults age 40 and older to assess the frequency of which they made decisions regarding 1) initiation of prescription medications for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or depression 2) screening tests for colorectal, breast, or prostate cancer and 3) surgeries for knee or hip replacement, cataracts, or lower back pain. The study found that 82.2% of participants reported making at least one medical decision in the preceding 2 years, with 83% making a decision about screening, 61% about medications and 44% about surgery. The high frequency of medical decision making lends further weight to the importance of conducting shared decision making during routine care for these and other conditions. Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Quality | Tagged Carrie Levin, DECISIONS Study, Floyd J. Fowler, medical decisions, shared decision making | Permalink

Patients' Views of the Good Doctor

Posted on June 17, 2013 by
Most doctors are good doctors in the eyes of most patients. Despite the media's fixation with medical errors and damaged patients, doctors come high in popularity stakes in almost any poll, compared with other professions or trades. Furthermore, familiarity tends to breed contentment, not contempt. Patients who have recent experience of medical care tend to give higher, less critical ratings than patients who experience is less current. The medical profession does, however, attract criticism from patients -- sometimes deservedly so. Continue reading →
Posted in Patient Involvement | Tagged Angela Coulter, BMJ, doctors, health care providers, medical decisions, patients | Permalink

Communicating with Patients on Health Care Evidence

Posted on June 17, 2013 by
This discussion paper argues for the increased use of shared decision making practices, citing that patients want to be involved in evidence and decisions, that there is a gap between this and what patients get, and that patient satisfaction is linked to shared decision making. These conclusions were reached through research in three stages: environmental scan, qualitative interviews and focus groups, and quantitative survey. Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Quality, Patient Satisfaction | Tagged evidence-based medicine, health communication, IOM, Lyn Paget, medical decisions, shared decision making | Permalink