Shared Decision-Making and Self-Management in Health Care

By David J. Brunarski, DC, MSc, FCCS(C), Associate Editor, Dynamic Chiropractic

There is increasing interest in shared decision-making (SDM) by patients, health care professionals and policy-makers. Woolf reports that “patients increasingly seek more active participation in health care decisions and many groups have called for a shift toward more meaningful dialogue between patients and physicians.”1 However, although shared decision-making is advocated as the preferred form of health care decision making, it is rarely observed in practice. 2,3