The 10 Leading Patient Engagement Solution Providers in 2018 Leading Patient Engagement small | Page 28

The role
OF SHARED
Decision Making
IN IMPROVING
Patient Engagement
H
ealthcare professionals are constantly under
consumer’s pressure and their requirements.
Physicians, regulators, and health providers are
figuring out the best way required to engage the patients in
their own medical care. Hence, organizations have shifted
to shared decision making (SDM) as a key strategy in
bringing out the role of patients in their own treatments.
SDM enables physicians and patients to share the decisions
to arrive at a mutual agreement in the care plan, tests, and
the treatment. Physicians base these results on the clinical
evidence, balance of risks, and expected outcomes along
with the patient’s values and preferences.
By implementing mutual decision via patient education and
communication, patients can progress beyond participation
and can develop into health collaborator. From the
provider's view, SDM obliges them to merge their clinical
expertise realizing that the patients can understand their
difficulties alongside acknowledging their value and
priorities. Hence, the call for the SDM is emerging now and
26 | December 2018
is seeking more value-based and patient-centred healthcare.
Time limitation and the knowledge accompanying with the
regulatory action has demeaned the SDM and has allowed it
to flow under the radar of the healthcare providers.
Consequently, the healthcare professionals require
education on SDM and how to practice it to set up a
collaborative environment for the patients and the clinical
staff.
Usage
Experts break SDM down in simple and stable steps. They
represent it as a simple example like identifying the patient
condition, reviewing the treatment options, testing the
patient’s preference and values, and carrying out the
decision.
The emerging challenges in these basic steps lie in the
present workflow and on the provider’s part via irregular
communication with the patients. Such false and inferior