Shared Decision Making and Social Prescribing in General Practitioner Consultations: An Observational Study

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Healthcare Decision Making
• Digital Health

Background:

• Shared decision making (SDM) involves GPs and patients collaborating on healthcare choices using evidence.
• Social prescribing (SP) connects patients with community resources for well-being.
• The integration of virtual care necessitates examining SDM and SP facilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the level of SDM during GP consultations involving SP.
• To explore the potential of virtual care to support SDM in SP contexts.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective observational study analyzed 65 recorded GP consultations in southwest England.
• Consultation transcripts were assessed using the OPTION^12 scale for patient involvement in decision making.

Main Results:

• The average OPTION^12 score across all consultations was 47.90, indicating moderate SDM.
• GPs excelled at identifying problems but were less effective at explaining pros and cons.
• SDM scores were similar for physical (45.83) and mental health (50.10) consultations involving SP.

Conclusions:

• SDM levels in GP consultations for SP did not differ between physical and mental health cases.
• Further investigation is needed to understand how virtual care can enhance SDM in SP.