Framework for teaching and learning informed shared decision making.

Patients should be involved in making decisions about their health care. The ethical imperative of autonomy is reflected in legal trends that require a high standard of disclosure for informed consent, amounting to a principle of informed choice. Outcomes of care and adherence to treatment regimens improve when patients are more involved. 5 Consumerism is part of the social spirit, and governments exhort citizens to take more responsibility. Models of doctor-patient encounters that result in increased involvement of patients and that are informed by good evidence have been termed, for example, “informed patient choice” but do not describe the interactive process clearly. We use the term informed shared decision making to describe decisions that are shared by doctor and patient and informed by best evidence, not only about risks and benefits but also patient specific characteristics and values. It occurs in a partnership that rests on explicitly acknowledged rights and duties and an expectation of benefit to both. We propose that a demonstrated capacity to engage in informed shared decision making is characterised by a set of necessary and sufficient competencies. By competencies we mean the knowledge, skills, and abilities that represent the instructional intents of a programme, stated as specific goals. They are a framework for teaching, learning, practice, and investigation Summary points