Enabling Patient Empowerment in Treatment Decisions for Thyroid Cancer —Reply

In Reply In response to our study on the influence of patient preference in physician decision-making in thyroid cancer, Kaul and Garg offered several insights on our study limitations and the value of shared decision-making. Nonetheless, several studies have shown that the current state of shared decision-making in thyroid cancer care fails to meet the needs of our patients. First, our previous study highlighted the lack of consensus among physicians regarding the risks, benefits, and optimal treatment of thyroid cancer. Thus, information and treatment recommendations patients receive will vary by which physician they happen to encounter. Second, previous studies have shown that physicians can often fail to consider patients ’ key decision factors and misjudge what patients with thyroid cancer value.
Source: JAMA Surgery - Category: Surgery Source Type: research