Patient Preferences And Decision Making

ANSWERS

Treatment guidelines and legislation increasingly require shared decision-making (SDM) to involve patients in medical decision-making. Matching patients’ treatment preferences have also been effective in symptom reduction. Despite promising results for patients with substance use disorders (SUD), there has been no systematic literature review. The goal is thus to provide a systematic review of the literature on patient preferences and SDM in the treatment of SUD patients.

An electronic literature search was conducted using the databases Medline, Embase, Psyndex, and Clinical Trials Register. Substance use disorders, patient preferences, and SDM were all used as search terms. Populations, interventions, and outcomes were summarized and described using the PRISMA statement for data synthesis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included articles.

If nurses, physicians, and healthcare planners knew more about their patients’ health-related preferences, care would most likely be less expensive, more effective, and more personalized. For patient preferences to be used effectively in health care delivery, patients must be able to formulate and express preferences, that these judgments be communicated to clinicians during care, and that these statements meaningfully inform care activities. Decision theory and health informatics provide promising approaches for eliciting subjective values and making them accessible in a clinical encounter in a way that drives health choices. Patients and clinicians alike find computer-based elicitation and reporting tools acceptable. It is time for the informatics community to focus on developing computer-based applications to assist clinicians in the complex cognitive process of integrating patient preferences with scientific knowledge, clinical practice guidelines, and the realities of modern health care.

QUESTION

Patient Preferences And Decision Making

What has your experience been with patient involvement in treatment or healthcare decisions?

In this Discussion, you will share your experiences and consider the impact of patient involvement (or lack of involvement). You will also consider the use of a patient decision aid to inform best practices for patient care and healthcare decision making.

NOTE: To ensure compliance with HIPAA rules, please DO NOT use the patient’s real name or any information that might identify the patient or organization/practice.