Adding Insult to Injury

Abstract

To overcome physician dominance and patient acquiescence in decision\nmaking, Kassirer proposes the use of decision analysis--the assessment of the\nprobability of each outcome and its utility (value). He contends that\nphysicians assign undue weight to very slight chances of life-threatening\nconsequences. Patients, however, frequently assess the outcome of care based\non its effects on quality of life. (KIE abstract)