Helping Patients Make Informed Decisions

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Topic

Communicating benefits, harms, and risk to help patients make informed decisions

Content

Four modules on communicating risks and benefits and shared decision-making including the topics of:

Helping patients make good decision
Why risk communication is important
Models of shared decision-making
Choice talk (explaining options)

Depth

Basic to intermediate

Target audience

Healthcare Professionals

Time to complete

2 hours to complete the four modules

Authors

Dr Raquel Newman, Professor Chris Del Mar, Professor Tammy Hoffman, and the Risk Communication Project Steering Group

Comments

This course challenge myths about shared decision-making in practice and explain how to use patient decision aids and where to find them. By the end of this activity, participants will be able to:

Describe why it is important for clinicians to effectively communicate benefits, harms, trade-offs, and uncertainties with patients
Explain the inter-relationship between shared decision making, evidence-based medicine and patient-centred care in the context of communicating benefits and
List key communication skills needed when talking with patients about evidence
Explain how to effectively communicate statistical information to patients
Outline the role of decision support tools, potential uses and where to locate them.