The Shared Decision for Osteoarthritis Treatments

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in collaborative, shared decision-making between physicians and patients. The shared decision-making process involves healthcare professionals and patients working together to make a healthcare decision. For patients and clinicians to reach mutual decisionsabout treatment, they must have an understanding of the condition, treatment options available, and the risks and benefits of each treatment. This is a very complex process when dealing with osteoarthritis (OA) patients.Treatment recommendations for OA vary depending on several factors, which results in patients having to continuously trade-off these factors against each other. Another challenge is that these factors differ between individuals and healthcare settings. Therefore, healthcare professionals must understand patients’ preferences to achieve a shared decision and be able to reach a mutual agreement regarding OA treatment. This is a complicated process that requires time, effort, and expertise