Do Visual Aids Influenced Patients ’ Risk Perceptions for Rare and Very Rare Risks?

Patients with rheumatic diseases are being increasingly asked to participate in treatment decisions with their physicians. This is especially true for clinical scenarios in which multiple options exist, such as escalating care to treat-to-target in rheumatoid arthritis. In order to effectively participate in medical decisions, patients must be able to differentiate between competing risks. While informed decision making does not require patients to be able to recall specific verbatim numeric information, it does require patients to be able to distinguish between a rare and very rare (e.g., 1% versus a 0.1%) probability of a serious adverse event.

Source: Patient Education and Counseling - June 19, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Liana Fraenkel, Valerie Reyna, Raluca Cozmuta, Diana Cornell, Julia Nolte, Evan Wilhelms Source Type: research