Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2025
06:28
E-Patient Counseling Trial E-PACO: Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
8.4K
How Does Cognitive Bias Affect Conversations With Patients About Dietary Supplements?
Ila M Harris1, Christine C Danner2, David J Satin3
1Clinical pharmacist and professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health in the University of Minnesota of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.
AMA Journal of Ethics
|May 16, 2022
Summary
Many patients do not disclose their dietary supplement use to clinicians due to clinician biases against complementary and alternative medicine. This can impact communication and decision-making, highlighting the need to mitigate these cognitive biases for better patient care.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Patient-Clinician Communication
- Cognitive Bias in Healthcare
Background:
- Patients frequently use dietary supplements without informing healthcare providers.
- Clinician biases, both conscious and unconscious, towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can impede open communication.
- This lack of disclosure affects clinical decision-making and patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify cognitive biases influencing patient-clinician communication regarding dietary supplements.
- To explore how these biases impact shared decision-making.
- To propose strategies for mitigating the negative effects of these biases.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of cognitive biases.
- Analysis of their impact on patient-clinician dialogue concerning dietary supplements.
- Development of mitigation strategies.
Main Results:
- Six specific cognitive biases identified that negatively affect communication and shared decision-making.
- These biases can lead to poor information exchange and suboptimal clinical recommendations.
- Strategies to address these biases are proposed.
Conclusions:
- Addressing clinician cognitive biases is crucial for improving patient-clinician communication about dietary supplements.
- Mitigation strategies can enhance trust and shared decision-making.
- Promoting awareness of biases can lead to more informed patient care.
Related Concept Videos
01:31Confirmation Biases
7.3K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
7.3K
01:54The Placebo Effect
6.4K
The placebo effect occurs when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.
6.4K
01:25Beck's Cognitive Therapy
119
Cognitive therapy is a psychological approach designed to address distortions in thinking, which can lead to negative emotions and unrealistic beliefs. These cognitive distortions often influence how individuals interpret and respond to situations, exacerbating emotional distress. Below are some prevalent cognitive distortions, their characteristics, and examples of how they manifest in thought processes.
Arbitrary Inference
Arbitrary inference involves making conclusions without sufficient...
Arbitrary Inference
Arbitrary inference involves making conclusions without sufficient...
119
02:07Blind Procedures
12.2K
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which...
12.2K
01:25Motivational Bias
4
Cognitive bias results from limitations in thinking and information processing, leading to systematic errors in judgment. Conversely, motivational bias stems from personal desires or emotions, causing distortions in perception to align with self-interest. Motivational bias influences how individuals perceive and attribute causes to events, often shaped by personal needs, goals, and self-esteem preservation. This bias can distort judgment, leading to inaccurate assessments of success, failure,...
4
01:30Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
215
Cognitive enhancers, also known as "smart drugs," are substances used to enhance memory, mental alertness, and concentration. These can be natural or synthetic and improve cognition in conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Some common examples include caffeine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, modafinil, arecoline, donepezil, vortioxetine, and piracetam. These enhancers work on the principle of synaptic plasticity and altered circuit function.
215