In nearly every medical-decision-making encounter, the physician is atthe center of the discussion, with the patient the recipient of the physician'sdecisions. Dr. Robert Alan McNutt starts from an opposite premise: thepatient should be at the center. McNutt challenges the physician-directed,medical-expertise model of making decisions, presenting a practicalapproach augmented by formal exercises designed to give patients the toolsand confidence to compare and contrast their health-care options so theycan make their own choices. He addresses a number of scenarios, includingheart disease, breast cancer, and prostate cancer-conditions that pose arange of choices that patients may face about diagnoses and treatments. After providing a clear explanation of what is the highest quality medical-decision-making information, McNutt teaches patients to use thatinformation to weigh the harms and benefits of their treatment options,empowering them to ask critical questions as they take a stronger hand intheir own care. Your Health, Your Decisions moves from specific scenariosthat commonly baffle patients to a systematic exploration of how to makemedical decisions. By offering patients the tools they need to be full partnersin their own health care, McNutt demystifies what can be a bewildering andeven terrifying process.

Book Information
ISBN 9781469629179
Author Robert A. Mcnutt
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint The University of North Carolina Press
Publisher The University of North Carolina Press