A key medical decision maker: the patient

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7311.466

BMJ 2001;323:466-467 ( 1 September )

Editorials

A key medical decision maker: the patient

New decision making aids should help patients make the decisions

Primary care pp 490, 493

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many medical decisions fall into a grey area where the optimal choice for an individual patient may be unclear and where reasonablepeople might choose differently. Common examples include electivesurgical procedures, such as lumbar discectomy or resection forbenign prostatic hypertrophy. Drug treatment may pose similarchoices when treatment offers both appreciable benefits and appreciablerisks. Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women isan example, as is anticoagulant therapy in patients with non-valvularatrial fibrillation. Decisions about such treatments are madedaily in clinical practice, and there is considerable evidencethat patients want more information and greater involvement inthem. In general we do a poor job of providing information, thoughthis week's BMJ includes studies of two examples of a new generationof interactive methods of patient information that holds promiseof improvement. ¹ ²

Decision aids are more than handouts
Although physicians often describe the natureof decisions to . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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exploring patients health understanding: Alexander Williams
bmj.com, 7 Sep 2001 [Full text]
The patient as key decision maker: yes and no: Bernard A Fo�x
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bmj.com, 22 Oct 2001 [Full text]