“In many hospitals and clinics around the country, oncologists and surgeons simply tell cancer patients what treatments they should have, or at least give them strong recommendations. But here, under a formal process called “shared decision making,” doctors and patients are working together to make choices about care.
It might seem like common sense: Each patient has different priorities and preferences; what’s right for one patient may be wrong for another. Of course patients should weigh in. But many aren’t accustomed to speaking up. Even the most engaged or educated patients may defer to their doctors because they are scared, they don’t want to be seen as difficult or they think the doctor knows best.
For their part, not all doctors want to cede control to patients who have far less medical knowledge or who may be relying on information they got from friends and the Internet. Also, many physicians don’t have the time for long discussions and the health care system isn’t set up to pay for them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment