A new American Heart Association scientific statement found that adequate levels of shared decision-making occur in only about 10 percent of face-to-face consultations.
The statement, published Aug. 14 in Circulation, found more than 100 trials demonstrated that shared decision-making, defined as the process of ensuring patients have the knowledge and tools to make decisions about their health in collaboration with the healthcare team, improved patient understanding, acceptance and satisfaction with their healthcare.
The key components of shared decision-making are clearly communicating unbiased evidence about risks, benefits and reasonable alternatives, clinical expertise provided in a relevant way to patients and including patient's values, goals and preferences into the decision process.