Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Dec 18, 2015; 6(11): 864-866
Published online Dec 18, 2015. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v6.i11.864
Role of decision aids in orthopaedic surgery
Isha A ten Have, Michel PJ van den Bekerom, Derek FP van Deurzen, Michel GJS Hageman
Isha A ten Have, Michel PJ van den Bekerom, Derek FP van Deurzen, Michel GJS Hageman, Department of Orthopaedics, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, 1091 AC Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author contributions: ten Have IA, van den Bekerom MPJ, van Deurzen DFP, Hageman MGJS wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest related to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Michel PJ van den Bekerom, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, 1091 AC Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.p.j.vandenbekerom@olvg.nl
Telephone: +31-20-5999111 Fax: +31-20-5993818
Received: May 8, 2015
Peer-review started: May 9, 2015
First decision: June 3, 2015
Revised: September 3, 2015
Accepted: October 20, 2015
Article in press: October 27, 2015
Published online: December 18, 2015
Processing time: 223 Days and 0.5 Hours
Abstract

Medical treatment of patients inherently entails the risk of undesired complication or side effects. It is essential to inform the patient about the expected outcomes, but also the possible undesired outcomes. The patients preference and values regarding the potential outcomes should be involved in the decision making process. Even though many orthopaedic surgeons are positive towards shared decision-making, it is minimally introduced in the orthopaedic daily practice and decision-making is still mostly physician based. Decision aids are designed to support the physician and patient in the shared- decision-making process. By using decision aids, patients can learn more about their condition and treatment options in advance to the decision-making. This will reduce decisional conflict and improve participation and satisfaction.

Keywords: Shared decision-making; Decisional conflict; Empowerment; Orthopaedic surgery; Patient decision aid

Core tip: In shared decision-making the caregiver provides expertise and evidence, and the patient and caregiver choose diagnostic and treatment options consistent with their values and preferences. To support patients in discussing their health decisions with their treating physician, patient decision aids have been developed. It is thought that empowering patients to participate in the decision making process with the help of decision aids results in increased satisfaction and physical function and reduced decisional conflict, anxiety, and resource utilization.