Levels of Shared Decision Making During Antidepressant Treatment – Pilot Findings from an Australian Qualitative Patient Feedback Survey - Abstract
Objective: To investigate rates of shared decision-making experienced by patients treated for major depression in Australia, examining impacts of side effect profiles, efficacy profiles, and cost on agent selection.
Methods: An anonymized online structured survey was administered to patients self-reporting being diagnosed with major depression during the two-year period prior to survey.
Results: 13% of the 207 patients surveyed felt they played an active role in treatment selection. Some 40% of patients reported that their doctor had not discussed treatment options with them, and that their doctor had selected their treatment without the patient feeling they had an active role.
Conclusions: This qualitative retrospective patient survey suggests the majority of patients in the study sample did not feel they were actively involved in making decisions about their antidepressant medication. This finding suggests low levels of shared decision making.