Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University researchers found that most physicians rarely involve patients in medical decision regarding their medical care.
Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University researchers collaborated with researchers from Mayo clinic on a study that revealed that most physicians rarely involve patients in medical decision regarding their medical care. The discovery was observed among physicians, both in public and private clinics.
The findings will be discussed in Lima, Peru, at ISDM 2013, an international conference on globalizing shared decision-making to be held from June 16 to June 19, 2013.
Study co-author Victor Montori, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery said in a press release that in spite of previous studies presenting evidence, which suggests involving patients in medical decision making regarding their medical care deceases patient conflicts, improves their knowledge of the treatment and increases patient satisfaction, many physicians continue leaving patients out of the decision making process.
However, some clinics, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, have expanded medical decision makings to their patients which have proved to have positive outcomes. Researchers of the study suggest that clinics in the Southern Hemisphere should also explore the benefits of involving patients in their care.
For the study, seven Peruvian physicians who were videotaped in a public or private setting while providing care to patients with chronic conditions were observed by the authors. 58 patients also participated in the study but were not aware of what the study was about. The physicians were asked to perform medical appointments as usual and were informed that the videotaping would be used to analyze aspects of the physician-patient relationship. Their effort to involve patients in decision-making was rated on a 100-point scale. The average score from the study read 14.3.
"Without patient involvement, it won't be possible to place the patient in the center of medical care," says co-author Germán Málaga, M.D., an associate investigator at Cayetano.
