There are three basic approaches to using health information to make healthcare decisions. We will call these approaches inform of decision, informed consent, and shared decision-making.
The inform of decision approach implies that the clinician has all the essential information and can make decisions that are in the patient’s best interest. The role of the clinician is then merely to inform the patient of what needs to be done and to prescribe the treatment, or write the orders The decision to administer tests and prescribe a range of medications is still often done using the inform of decision approach.
informed consent. It rests on the principle that, ultimately, patients need to give their permission or consent before major interventions, such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, can be undertaken. Informed consent may be written, spoken, or implied. Clinically, informed consent implies that individuals have the right to know what will be done, why it will be done, and what the known benefits and harms are.Patients have the right to ask questions, including inquiring about the availability of other options. Informed consent does not mean that all possible options are presented to the patient, but it does imply that a clinician has made a recommendation for a specific intervention.
shared decision-making. In this approach, the clinician’s job is to provide information to the patient with which he or she can make a decision. This might include directly giving information to the patient; providing consultations; or referring patients to sources of information, often on the Internet. Shared decision-making places a far greater burden on the patient to seek out, understand, and use information. Using this approach, clinicians are not required to provide recommendations on specific interventions, though patients are free to ask for a clinician’s opinion.
Health communications provides key tools for population health. We have taken a look at important issues related to each of them. We have asked questions about how public health data and information are collected, compiled, presented, perceived, combined, and used in decision-making. Data and information are key public health tools for guiding our decision-making.