Communication · Executive Insight Brief · 547
The options were explained, the priorities never asked
Shared decision making requires an exchange of evidence and patient priorities, not merely information disclosure or a signed consent form
Premise
Shared decision making (SDM) requires patients and clinicians to shape a choice together when reasonable medical options carry different risks and burdens. A patient can receive detailed information and still have no influence on the chosen treatment. Conversely, being told to decide alone without professional help may leave the patient unsupported. The decision process must bring clinical evidence and the person’s priorities into an actual exchange.
An institutional checklist that records informed consent but never asks what matters to the patient can conceal this gap. Governance should examine whether realistic options, meaningful participation, and an agreed course were present—not just whether a form was signed.
What the model is: Shared Decision Making in Knowledge →
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- The essential model
- Why this matters
- Risks and limits
- Executive takeaway
- Key questions
- Selected sources
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- FamilyModel
- CategoryAnalytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
- DomainConversation & Relationships
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Analytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
Organizes dimensions, distinctions, types or questions so that a situation can be examined systematically. A framework supplies structure, a typology distinguishes forms, and a heuristic offers a usable way to orient judgment.
- KnowledgeShared Decision Making