There is significant evidence confirming the benefits of shared decision making to both patients and health care providers.The findings show that shared decision making results in:
· greater knowledge
· lower decisional conflict, related to feeling
uninformed
· an increase in the match between what
patients value and the decision that they
make
· a reduction in the number of people who
remain undecided after receiving treatment
options
· a reduction in rates of elective surgery in
favour of conservative options
There is also some evidence to show that shared decision making results in greater treatment adherence, which is where patients are more likely to stick with the treatment that they have chosen.
