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Designing a Smarter Patient: The Hidden Influences That Sway Our Medical Decisions

By admin | September 29, 2011

The following is from a September 24, 2011 Wall Street Journal Article:

“I’m comfortable with that,” or “No, it wouldn’t be comfortable for me.”

That’s what our patients often tell us when faced with a choice about taking a medication or undergoing a procedure. And the discussion usually stops there.

But what makes someone comfortable or uncomfortable with one treatment or another, or with no treatment at all? Where do these views come from? And how can patients make better decisions?

For answers, we spent four years interviewing scores of patients of different ages. We found that a host of powerful and often hidden influences, inside and outside the patient’s mind, can sway thinking and distort judgment. We also discovered that, by unmasking those influences, it is possible for patients to gain greater confidence and control over their medical decisions.

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal Article.

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