Editorial
Eileene Shake
Abstract
According to a 2014 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report the United States is increasingly burdened by factors that hamper delivering high-quality care to Americans during the end of life. The IOM report points out the importance of engaging patients and their families in shared decision making and advance care planning. Eighteen years ago nurse researchers informed us that if nurses, physicians, and health care planners knew more about the patient’s healthrelated preferences, our society could reduce health care cost, provide a higher quality of effective care, and achieve the individual patient’s goals related to their care. Today, it is imperative that healthcare providers and the entire healthcare interdisciplinary team engage patients in shared decision making when it comes to selecting treatment options. Engaging Patients in Healthcare Shared Decision Making: Three Major Areas of Choice