Shared Decision Making

When surgery may be offered as a treatment option, shared decision making (SDM) can form part of the surgical consultation.  This involves working with doctors and other healthcare professionals to make choices about the treatment option that is best for you, taking into account your values, preferences and what matters to you the most. These conversations will help you understand how a treatment might affect your quality of life, whether you should go ahead and what might happen if you do nothing. Not only does SDM ensure you are supported to make informed decisions that are right for you, but also allows you to ask the questions that matter to you most.

Patients who are effectively involved in making decisions about their care:

• Feel more in control with their health condition
• Have fewer regrets about treatment,
• Better communication with healthcare professionals,
• Improved knowledge of their condition and treatment options,
• Better adherence to the selected treatment and
• An overall better experience with improved satisfaction. 

Find out more about SDM on the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) website.