RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Medical decision-making and communication of risks: an ethical perspective
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 349
OP 352
DO 10.1136/jme.2009.033282
VO 36
IS 6
A1 Breitsameter, Christof
YR 2010
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/36/6/349.abstract
AB The medical decision-making process is currently in flux. Decisions are no longer made entirely at the physician's discretion: patients are becoming more and more involved in the process. There is a great deal of discussion about the ideal of ‘informed consent’, that is that diagnostic and therapeutic decisions should be made based on an interaction between physician and patient. This means that patients are informed about the advantages and disadvantages of a treatment as well as alternatives to the treatment; then, based on this information they can decide whether or not they want to undergo the treatment. However, recent studies show that the realisation of the ideal of ‘shared decision-making’ faces a number of difficulties related to the fact that patients are not provided with complete and accurate information. Using the example of breast cancer screening, this article examines the question of whether, in light of these difficulties, the ideal of informed decision-making is only an illusion or whether concrete steps can be taken towards the realisation of this ideal.