NICE publishes guidance on shared decision-making

GUIDANCE on effective shared decision-making in healthcare has been published by NICE.

The new guidelines advise that shared decision-making with patients should be part of everyday practice across all healthcare settings and sets out ways for healthcare professionals to ensure this is best practice at an organisational level.

The guideline offers advice on how to engage people accessing care in the shared decision-making process through “honest conversation” and by providing information resources before, during and after appointments. Posters and patient decision aid leaflets are recommended to help the process.

NICE also recommends that organisations should consider appointing a patient director to support the "embedding of shared decision making at the most senior levels of the organisation and to help ensure the voice of service users is heard". Recommendations on organisational planning, training and healthcare delivery are offered to help improve staff awareness of the importance of patient involvement.

Prof Gillian Leng, NICE chief executive, said: "We’re delighted to see this shared decision making guideline published and we hope it will help people using healthcare services feel more confident in discussing care and treatment options with their healthcare teams. These recommendations should help healthcare professionals to embed good practice in all their interactions with the people they are caring for and at an organisational level.

"We view these recommendations as underpinning the implementation of all NICE’s work, and it’s important that these recommendations are put into practice at all levels across the system to support patient care."

Link: Shared decision making