Skip to main content

Shared Decision-Making

Meaning

Shared decision-making (SDM) is a collaborative process in clinical practice where the patient and their healthcare provider jointly participate in making decisions about a course of treatment. This model ensures that clinical evidence and therapeutic options are discussed transparently alongside the patient’s personal values, preferences, and goals. It moves beyond simply informing the patient to actively integrating their perspective into the final care plan, leading to greater adherence and patient satisfaction. This is a key element of ethical medical supervision.