Shared decision making with patients

While healthcare professionals in the western world are traditionally perceived as an authoritative voice, in using the internet, patients are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about healthcare and available treatment options. Websites such as patientslikeme.com offer patients an open forum to share the details of their conditions with other patients. Patients are developing expectations similar to those they have for other services, seeing themselves as powerful consumers and demanding more choice and control over the services and care they receive. Studies show that two-thirds of patients want to be involved in decisions about their care, and as the marketplace becomes more transparent, pharmacists need to work in partnership with patients in the role of a navigator to facilitate medicines management and optimisation.

Proposed workforce impact

• Pharmacists adopt a gatekeeping role on the supply of medicines.

Sources or references

• http://www.who.int/management/general/decisionmaking/WhereArePatientsinDecisionMaking.pdf
• http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/education/news/Involvementandmedicines.pdf

Additional research questions

• Are there international examples of how the role of the pharmacist has changed to meet the need of shared decision making with patients?

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.