Communication in Shared Decision-Making

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In this month’s issue, Dr Daniel Butler and colleagues describe shared decision-making for older adult patients. An intriguing aspect of shared decision-making is the extent to which we communicate to patients the information they need to fully participate in treatment decision-making. While patients bring their own background and perspective to the decision, they also need solid medical information. What is the best way to provide this information? 

As science-based professionals, I think our tendency is to provide the best numeric statistics available to our patients. However, simple stories and anecdotes may be far more convincing for people. I have tried testing this hypothesis,¹ and it does seem that giving patients an anecdote about a similar patient who did well on a drug is more convincing than giving them all the data on efficacy and safety. 

Ultimately, we probably need to find the balance between storytelling and transferring data to our patients for them to fully share in the decision-making process. Such a balance should certainly aim toward our goal of providing patients with the best possible care. 

Reference
1. Johnson MC, Oussedik E, Huang WW, Kammrath LK, Feldman SR. Anecdote increases patient willingness to take a biologic medication for psoriasis. Cutis. 2021;108(2S):20-24. doi:10.12788/cutis.0320