Shared decision making in Spain: current state and future perspectives

Abstract

In the last two decades there has been a growing recognition in the Spanish National Health System (NHS) of the importance of considering patients' values and preferences in clinical decisions. Patient participation in shared decision making (SDM) is gaining importance as a suitable approach to patient-health professional communication and decision making in Spain. In addition, the NHS is funding the development of patients' decision aids (PtDAs) for shared decision making (SDM) by Health Technology Assessment Agencies. However, the NHS has still not incorporated reforms in law that includes SDM and PtDAs as a key component of health care services and professional curricula, nor is there a standardised implementation of interventions to support decisions in routine care. Most patients are not very familiar with their rights to be kept informed and participate in their own health care decisions. Most professionals are not familiar with or educated about patients' rights to be kept informed and participate in health care decisions either. The future of SDM in Spain is promising. The next course of action should be to maintain the production and adaptation of high-quality PtDAs while at the same time reinforcing effective dissemination strategies among patients and training programmes for professionals focused on SDM.