Why Are Patients More Concerned When Physicians Use Decision Support Tools?

While some patients have a negative perception about clinical decision aids used in making diagnoses, physicians can alleviate their concerns—and potentially improve the provider/patient relationship—by engaging patients in the use of electronic tools, concluded a study published in the January 2013 Medical Decision Making. The researchers found that patients were less confident in their physician’s capability when an electronic clinical decision tool was used; meanwhile, they rated physicians more positively on several attributes when physicians made clinical decisions by themselves or after consulting with colleagues. However, the researchers also found that patients were less likely to blame their physicians for negative outcomes when an electronic decision aid was used.