The Patient’s Voice in Clinical Practice Informs Policy

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Deborah Marshall, Ph.D., of the University of Univ. of Calgary, reported this weekend in Toronto at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress on Osteoarthritis, that today―in the era of shared decision making and patient-centered care―patient preferences should be incorporated into clinical practice.

She suggested incorporating a survey-based approach. She tested the discrete choice experiment (DCE) which is typically used in healthy policy analyses.

The results of such surveys could be used in clinical practice, but also in informing clinical practice guidelines and the regulatory approval process.

“Incorporating patients' preferences into treatment recommendations is the next step in guideline development and has been identified as the standard for developing treatment recommendations,” she wrote in the conference abstract.