Shared Decision Making?

I just joined a Webinar on Shared Decision Making with the Patients Association earlier this morning - it was recorded so I think it will be available to watch and there are various downloadable resources. No mention of Integrative Care but I guess the more shared decision making, the more opportunities there will be, at least amongst those patients who have come across Integrative medicine?

We so need more of this as reserach shows one in seven people have post decision regret! I think that was mostly surgery but I've certainly come across quite a number of people who would have liked to understood better their choices. We also know from Kelly Turner's research (and others) that having more control over our health is good for our health. In some ways it seems extraordinary that we are even having this conversation!

There was a Citizen’s Jury in 2019 with NHS Scotland that looked at shared decisions -  this has led to a number of campaigns to boost shared decision making. A badge was created for clinicians to show their support - apparently very positive feedback from patients.

One of the resources that has been created is the 'Our Health - Our Knowledge' - a short web course designed to help people who are thinking about choices in healthcare. That includes patients, family members, carers, healthcare students, healthcare professionals, and policy makers. Patients are expected to be offered choices in treatments. See: https://www.ourhealthourknowledge.org

This Patients Association blog with online resources has a suggestion for Patient Reference Groups to have a look at this - I've already copied to our Gloucestershire Group: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/blog/our-health-our-knowledge-online-resource-for-patients-launches 

You can join other Patients Association webinars this week; 'Patient Partnership Week': www.patients-association.org.uk/Event/join-us-for-a-week-of-patient-partnership

To finish I note that this blog has been rather slow of late - partly have been busy with the charity Yes to Life and partly just life....I have at leats a hundred blogs in my head so hope to find some time for at least a few of those! In the meantime do check out Yers to Life's blogs at: https://yestolife.org.uk/blog/