Shared decision-making and important medical and social decisions in the context of early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Shared decision-making is a model of medical decision-making, which aims at reducing the informational and decisional power asymmetry between physician and patient to obtain jointly reached agreements on medical treatment. SDM can also be applied in the case of early stage of Alzheimer’s disease, as long as individuals’ with dementia decisional capacity still exists. Because of the loss of cognitive functions in the course of the disease, upcoming important issues like medical treatment and legal and social issues should be made as soon as possible after diagnosis, so that persons with dementia can be involved in the process of decision-making.