Participation of haemato-oncological patients in medical decision making and their confidence in decisions

Increasingly more clinical care and research acknowledge the patients' interest in participating in medical decision making. However, for haematological patients, there are as yet only modest findings. The current study explores patients' perceptions of their role in the medical decision-making process in a sample of 117 haematological patients. The majority of patients surveyed (63.9%) took a passive role in the medical decision-making process, which is a significantly greater proportion compared with individuals suffering from solid cancers. Despite passive majority, most of the participants reported a positive evaluation of the decision-making process. Importantly, patients' evaluations were significantly more negative either if patients were treated as inpatients (vs. outpatients), or if they experienced no control over the decision (vs. collaboration with the doctor, or deciding autonomously). The results and limitations of the study are discussed.