Shared decision making

Shared Decision-Making has been developed as a method for coordinating care, by entering into a discussion with the patient about their preferences and wishes. In this way, we increase the chance that care will match a patient’s needs and that they will proceed with treatment. Although 67% of the patients always want to make decisions together and 27% at least sometimes want to make decisions together, this proves to be very difficult in practice. However, patients are often quite impressed with their condition and the care process. It is tempting to hand over control if the doctor or nurse knows a lot more than you do – you feel dependent. As a healthcare professional, joint decision-making requires a great deal of overview and the conviction that a patient who is heard is always better helped. In the Shared Decision-Making module, you learn how to listen to patients if they find it difficult to talk – even if the time to really elaborate is limited.