Shared decision making in the physician-patient encounter in France: a general overview in 2011

WHAT ABOUT POLICY REGARDING SDM? There is a social demand in France for more healthcare user information and greater patient participation in the decision making process, as reflected by the law of March 4(th) 2002 pertaining to patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system known as the Law on Democracy in healthcare. WHAT ABOUT TOOLS - DECISION SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS? At the micro level, some research projects are being developed, some of them using decision aids. Preliminary results show that patients want to be informed but that the concept of shared decision making needs to be analysed and refined from both the patients' and the physicians' points of views. WHAT ABOUT PROFESSIONAL INTEREST AND IMPLEMENTATION? However, the relationship between physicians/healthcare professionals and patients/healthcare users is very complex and progress in this field takes time. Only ten years after enactment of the Law on Democracy in healthcare, it might be premature to try and determine the state of the art of shared medical decision making at the macro and meso levels in France. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? There is room in France for further studies on shared decision making in the medical encounter. Researchers, decision makers, healthcare users and healthcare professionals need a place to meet and exchange. An observatory dedicated to shared decision making will be launched in the coming months, both at the national level and in collaboration with several other French-speaking areas like Switzerland and the province of Quebec.