Communicating Uncertainty and Influence on Treatment Decision-Making by Patients
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2854922
Patients are often faced with medical decisions for which there is imperfect evidence. Studies relevant to the medical decision at hand may have weak designs, lack generalizability, or have other limitations. Acknowledging uncertainty when the available evidence has limitations is a core element of shared decision-making, but clinicians may not regularly discuss uncertainty with patients. This challenge is particularly acute in oncology, where treatments are often viewed as both essential and having substantial risks, but supporting trials frequently rely on surrogate outcomes (eg, tumor size) that leave ambiguity about effectiveness for meaningful outcomes that drive patients’ decisions (eg, disability-free survival, quality of life). Moreover, the informational materials intended to support patient decision-making often lack a balanced discussion of the uncertainty about the treatments’ risks and benefits.
October 12, 2026 289
