Shared medical decision making

Involving the patient in medical decision-making is called shared medical decision-making (SMD). While the concept of SMD is nothing new, implementation has been slow to develop within current clinical practice, although there is growing interest in this topic in the scientific literature. SMD requires full agreement with the patient, who becomes an actor in their own care, and whose goals sometimes differ from those of the doctor. In a systematic review, it was reported that 75% of surgeons were in favor of SMD, while only 54% of patients favored it. The tools that support SMD can be extremely variable; they are not merely a document of information but must offer guidance to help the patients clarify their choices. They must allow for quality time for discussion, even though the time spent on SMD is perceived as a hindrance to its widespread adoption. The objectives of this work are to specify the essential steps in setting up SMD, and the assessment tools and applications for SMD in digestive surgery.