PC = Ctrl & +/-
Mac = CMD & +/-
We hope that you aren't having any difficulty navigating this website or using any of the features.
You are able to change the size of the font so the text is easier for you to read in your browser using these shortcuts.
Alternatively, go to the accessibility page for more guidance.
Shared decision making (SDM) is the conversation that happens between a patient and their health professional to reach a healthcare choice together. This conversation needs patients and professionals to understand what is important to the other person when choosing a treatment.
Patient Decision Aids are specially designed information resources that help people make decisions about difficult healthcare options. They will help you to think about why one option is better for you than another. People's views change over time depending on their experiences and who they talk to. Understanding what is important to you about your decision will help you choose the option that is best for you.
Decision Support is a process for helping individuals to arrive at an evidence based choice regarding their treatment, where there is more than one option for treating their condition.
Patient decision aids help people think about healthcare decisions in the context of their lives. They have written information that is accurate and balanced, ask questions to let you think how the treatment consequences might affect you, and summarise your reasons for choosing, or not choosing, an option.
People who use decision aids say they understand the health problem and treatment choices more clearly, they understand why one treatment is better for them than another, and they can talk more confidently about their reasons for liking or not liking an option with doctors, nurses, friends and family.
The NHS Shared Decision Making app is available on smart devices running Apple iOS or Android. Visit Google Play on the web or download from your device's app store. Visit our app page for more information.
Shared Decision Making is also optimized to work on your smartphone's internet browser.
Shared Decision Making Sheets (SDMS) are resources for health professionals to use with patients in consultations when making a treatment decision for a given health problem.
They are designed to facilitate a conversation about the reasons for choosing one treatment option over and above another treatment option, between people with different types of expertise.
