Healthcare Decisions
Healthcare Decisions - Related Videos
08:34
Thinking Too Much Impairs Decision-Making
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2023
Source: Peter Mende-Siedlecki & Jay Van Bavel—New York University When we are considering a tough choice between two or more attractive options, we often end up actively weighing the pros and cons of each alternative. By reflecting on their advantages and disadvantages, we attempt to fit a complex, subjective decision into an orderly set of criteria. However, research in psychology suggests that this sort of introspective approach might not always yield the most optimal outcomes.1 In other...
08:22
Decision-making and the Iowa Gambling Task
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel—University of Southern California Decision-making is an important component of human executive function, in which a choice about a course of action or cognition is made from many possibilities. Damage to the inferior parts of the frontal lobes can affect a person's ability to make good decisions. However, while decision-making deficits can have a large impact on one's life, these deficits can be difficult to quantify in the laboratory.
01:11
Secondary Healthcare System
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2023
Secondary healthcare is offered by a specialist, generally in hospitals or clinics for patients referred by primary healthcare providers. It occurs when a person has an illness or injury that requires specific medical care. Secondary care is often referred to as acute care. Secondary care can range from uncomplicated care to repair a minor laceration or treat a strep throat infection to more complicated emergent care, such as treating a head injury sustained in an automobile accident. Whatever...
01:21
Tertiary Healthcare System
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2023
Specialized care provided over an extended period is called tertiary care. Usually, a primary or secondary care physician will refer a patient to tertiary care. A patient's maximum physical and mental function is restored in tertiary care, which is caused due to the impact of a chronic illness or condition. Tertiary care aims to achieve the highest level of functioning possible while managing chronic illness. For example, a patient who falls and fractures their hip will need secondary care to...
01:17
Healthcare Agencies II
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2023
There are various healthcare agencies in the United States—some of which are managed by religious institutions and others by different government branches. Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources, and lay...
FAQs
Clinicians weigh the expected benefits of an option against its possible harms, while considering the patient’s medical history, values, and available alternatives. Practical constraints can also influence which choices are feasible. This balancing process helps distinguish care that is merely possible from care that is appropriate for a particular patient and situation.
Shared decision-making becomes especially important when more than one reasonable option exists and the preferred choice depends on what the patient values. The clinician explains relevant evidence, benefits, risks, and alternatives, while the patient contributes preferences and priorities. This exchange supports decisions that are clinically informed and better aligned with individual goals.
Communicating uncertainty helps patients and families understand that clinical choices may involve incomplete information, competing outcomes, or more than one defensible path. Clear discussion of what is known, uncertain, beneficial, or potentially harmful can reduce avoidable misunderstanding. It also supports informed participation rather than presenting a complex choice as automatically determined.
Healthcare decisions are shaped not only by clinical evidence but also by practical constraints, including the alternatives and resources available in a given setting. These factors may affect which screening, treatment, rehabilitation, or management option can be pursued. Recognizing such constraints makes the decision process more realistic and helps clinicians address appropriateness and feasibility together.
A useful discussion should address the patient’s medical history, the available options, potential benefits and risks, and any meaningful alternatives. Patient preferences and practical circumstances also belong in the conversation. Organizing these elements gives clinicians and patients a shared basis for choosing among screening, medication, surgery, rehabilitation, or other forms of care.
The same decision principles apply across prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing management. In practice, they guide choices about screening, medication, surgery, rehabilitation, and end-of-life care, although the relevant benefits, risks, alternatives, and preferences differ by situation. This broad application helps connect individual clinical choices with quality, safety, and appropriateness of care.
Clinical choices can influence outcomes at several levels. For patients, they may affect treatment and management; for families, they shape understanding and participation in difficult choices; and for health systems, they contribute to the quality and safety of care. Studying these decisions helps identify avoidable harm and encourages care that is more appropriate to individual circumstances.