Why Shared Decision Making is Vital in the Healthcare Setting

Shared decision making involves the process of bringing word to the patient all of the pertinent information regarding his present health condition, prognosis, medications received, lifestyles changes and health teachings.  It also involves sharing decision with the patient and his significant others – wife, children or parents of the patient in cases wherein the patient is a minor or is unable to comprehend and/or unconscious secondary to severe injury or illness – on how treatment has to be carried out which will benefit both parties especially the patient concerned.  Included in the shared decision making process is the laying out of the pros and cons of the treatment regimen or the planned therapeutic procedures; with the advantages weighing out the cons.

The patient can benefit a great deal from having shared decision making implemented as part of his/her patient care.  First of all, shared decision making allows the patient to develop within himself a sense of self-government and self-determination, making him feel that he’s not treated as somebody who is incapable of making decisions of his own especially regarding his own treatment, brought about by illness or disease condition.  However, to make things clear, in a shared decision making, the patient is not allowed to choose his own treatment.  It is the physician who lays out all possible treatment regimens for the patient prioritizing the ones that will benefit the patient the most and those that conform to the patient’s religious beliefs and other pressing concerns.

Shared decision making does not only benefit the patient but the physician ad well.  Through shared decision making, the physician becomes more perspicacious and cogent of the patient’s needs and health concerns.  With the physician being more informed of his patient’s concerns, it will now be easy for him to formulate and plan treatment modalities, making the patient’s hospital stay short and full of good progress.  Barrier of communication between the patient and the physician is also eliminated through shared decision making.  With effective communication taking place, both parties have become insightful of each others’ preferences and decision regarding healthcare and are able to come up with an agreeable solution.

There are instances where in the patient and his significant others leave all the decision making solely to the physician.  This is actually right. However, it is always better for both parties to incorporate shared decision making as it will be a lot easier to make decisions when all of the important information that might aggravate or improve the patient’s health condition are layed out.    With the exchange of ideas, the physician is able to recommend a surrogate treatment modality that squares the patient’s needs.  A well informed patient is most likely to give an informed consent which will allow treatment to take place.

An informed consent is a legal document which states the patient’s consent to a medical procedure or surgical procedure or to participation in a clinical study after proper advise is given that are relevant to medical facts as well as with the risks that he is about to face during the procedure.  An informed consent is necessitous and should be obtained prior to the performance or implementation of any kind of procedure.  This is why shared decision making is vital in the healthcare setting.  It makes the patient fully aware of his present health condition and the planned treatment together with is advantages and disadvantages to fully obtain an informed consent.  Without an informed consent, a procedure is not carried out.  Verbal consent is not enough to be called an informed consent; everything has to be in paper and pen to make the consent legal and to avoid future lawsuits.

Upon the receipt of the information during the shared decision making process, the patient is given enough time to ponder on things and to ready himself for the procedure.