Video/Physicians often recommend treatment options that differ from what they would take themselves

Physicians often recommend treatment options that differ from what they would take themselves (Video)

April 11, 2011 - Insidermedicine)

In medical situations where it is unclear what the best treatment option might be, physicians often make recommendations to patients that are different from what they would choose for themselves, according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

If you are faced with a difficult medical decision, it can help to consider:

• Does the available treatment have a reasonable likelihood of being beneficial?

• Is the treatment associated with excessive pain, expense, or other inconvenience?

• What are my long-term goals of treatment and how am I most likely to reach those goals?

Researchers from Duke University distributed questionnaires to hundreds of internal medicine and family medicine physicians regarding one of two medical scenarios, one involving colon cancer and the other bird flu. In both scenarios, the physicians were asked consider one of two treatment options, one with a higher survival rate but significant unpleasant side effects, the other more easily tolerated but with a higher risk of death. Some physicians were asked to choose the treatment option for themselves, while other were asked which they would recommend for apatient.

Among the physicians who responded to the questionnaire about colon cancer, nearly 38% chose the treatment with the higher death rate for themselves, but less than 25% of the physicians would recommend this option to a patient. Similarly, among those who responded to the questionnaire about avian flu, nearly 63% chose the option with the higher death rate for themselves, but less than half reported that they would recommend it to a patient.

Today’s research offers a little insight into how physicians make decisions, demonstrating that the very act of making a recommendation changes the way they weigh medical alternatives.