Shared decision making in Chile: supportive policies and research initiatives

WHAT ABOUT POLICY REGARDING SDM? Since 1999, there has been a small but growing interest by academics, the government, and society as a whole in strengthening patients' and professionals' involvement in shared decision making (SDM). Two governmental policy documents that indicate support for SDM are (1) Health Reform in 2003 and (2) Sanitary Objectives 2011-2020, which includes a brief section on client participation and SDM. WHAT ABOUT TOOLS - DECISION SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS? Research by Chilean academics has highlighted the patients' desire to participate in health decisions and effective approaches for enhancing health professionals' skills in interprofessional SDM; however, little has been done to support this need and the work is centralised in only one academic institution. Decision support tools and coaching interventions are limited to patients considering decisions about managing type 2 diabetes. WHAT ABOUT PROFESSIONAL INTEREST AND IMPLEMENTATION? Although there is increasing attention to studying patients' participation and involvement on their healthcare, little has been studied in relation to professionals' interest in SDM. As well, there are significant challenges for implementation of a country-wide SDM policy. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? The future looks promising given the new health policies, local Chilean research projects, and international initiatives. Collaboration between health professionals, academics, and government policy makers, with public involvement needs to be strengthened in order to promote concrete strategies to implement SDM in Chile.