Annals clinical decision making: Communicating risk and engaging patients in shared decision making

Abstract

Engaging patients in a clinical decision is critical to ensure that the final decision is aligned with the patient's values and preferences, particularly when the decision options involve significant risks and tradeoffs. Although shared decision making can be challenging to incorporate into practice, advances in understanding of risk communication and decision support can facilitate the shared decision-making process and are likely to become even more useful as tools become embedded in electronic health records.