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From patients to decision makers: How shared decision making is changing healthcare?
In modern medical practice, the concept of patient participation has significantly changed the previous medical model dominated by medical professionals. Patients are no longer just passive recipients of health care, but important decision makers in their medical process. This change stems from questioning medical professionalism, the core idea of which is that patients obtain informed consent under the guidance of professionals. In this new era, the concept of patient engagement has been introduced to promote shared decision making and patient-centered care models.
“The patient engagement experience should include transparency, personalization, respect, dignity, and choice that are relevant to each individual’s patient care.”
Patient engagement is not limited to shared decision-making in clinical practice, but has been intertwined with health policy research and participatory medicine in recent years. With the leadership of patient experience, patients' decision-making power over medical policies is increasingly valued. Although this situation has been criticized by some who argue that patients may sometimes be excluded from decision-making and agenda setting, the role of patients as a stakeholder is gaining greater recognition and acceptance.
The impact of shared decision makingThe benefits of shared decision-making are numerous and include improved access, enhanced patient safety, and greater patient satisfaction. More importantly, this model forces healthcare providers to develop greater empathy and effective communication skills.
"The active participation of patients can significantly enhance the quality and safety of medical care."
Factors that support patient engagement include the provision of easy-to-understand personalized information, educational exchanges between patients and providers, ample interaction time, and positive attitudes from providers. Together, these elements empower patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey. Additionally, training patients on communication skills helps them get more information during their visits, which is crucial to improving their healthcare experience.
Patient Engagement and Health Policy
Patients are playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping health policy. Starting from the consumer rights movement, patient participation has gradually extended to different levels, from medical decision-making to policy development, affecting the medical system at multiple levels. As patient engagement improves, patient satisfaction, quality of care, and population health outcomes improve significantly.
“Patient participation helps improve the quality of health care and promotes effective policy development.”
For example, patient engagement practices have led to policy changes such as expanded hospital visiting hours and patient-centered rounds by the medical team at the bedside. By participating in the formation of these policies, patient groups can provide authentic feedback based on their needs and experiences, allowing public health needs to be more accurately incorporated into policy proposals.
Patient Involvement in Health Technology Evaluation
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) increasingly includes patient participation in evaluating the effects of health technologies. Patients’ experiences can provide value to these assessments as they can share their daily experiences and expectations with certain treatments and services. Therefore, the patient is not only a recipient of intelligence but a key stakeholder in the entire process.
Although patient participation is receiving increasing attention, the process still faces many challenges and criticisms, including insufficient patient representation, the burden of participation, and conflicts of interest. Robust patient engagement requires clear guidelines and evaluation criteria to ensure its validity and reliability."The changing role of the patient reflects the changing balance of power in today's healthcare environment."
Future Outlook
Faced with the ever-changing medical environment, how to further promote the widespread application of patient participation has become an important issue in the current medical community. Technological advances, such as the introduction of artificial intelligence, have made the ways in which patients participate more diverse. Whether patients can truly become masters of their own health management and to what extent they can influence medical decisions still needs further exploration.
The concept of patient participation is undoubtedly continuing to ferment in today's medical system. When we reflect on this change, do you think that patients will become the real decision makers of the future medical system?
