To better understand the impact of decision making on the medical field, I have chosen to evaluate an organization whose purpose it is to support and advise healthcare providers, both in policy making and treatment options.
Identification of Company
The Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) is an international organization that assists physicians and other medical professionals in improving healthcare outcomes by promoting efficacious decision making that is based on valuable resources exchanged through academic forums (paraphrased, Society for Medical Decision Making, 2007). Because of the broad range of members’ expertise, hospitals and physicians are able to draw healthcare information from global resources. By approaching medical decision making and policy formation from a multi-dimensional perspective, the informed communication will lead to better and more effective outcomes, which may lead to overall health benefits.
The Services Provided
The main goal of the SMDM is to “improve the health and clinical care of individuals and assist health policy formation by developing and promoting the use of systematic methods to deal with the uncertainties of health care decisions (SDMD, 2007).” In other words, the society is designed to help the healthcare providers and policy-makers make better decisions, especially when the decisions are difficult to make. Many hospitals: made up of the directors, administrators, and physicians, are faced daily with difficult situations that may lead to life or death decisions. Like any other business, hospitals are reliant on their ability to make good decisions, even in difficult situations. Poor decision making may lead to monetary loss from malpractice suits, bad publicity, and other negative impacts such as cuts in government funding. If hospitals and doctors make bad decisions, lives may hang in the balance. However, if systematic approaches are developed to ensure the best possible choices are made, than the hospital also has much to gain. By using the services provided by the SMDM, the hospital may improve risk management and ensure positive healthcare outcomes.
Global Impact of Improved Decision Making
Framing is the context and perspective a person uses to evaluate a choice; what the decision maker sees as the outcome and possibilities of a particular act (paraphrased, Plous, 1993, pg 69). If physicians and hospital policy-makers are attendant to the examples set by the Society for Medical Decision Making, they may be able to persuade patients to make the best choices, despite their fears. By framing the information in terms of their survival rate, possible benefits v. side effects or risks, care givers may be able to provide the most beneficial view of data, helping patients to allay fears or shock related to the illness so that they can make the best choices possible.
Conclusion
The SMDM provides a valuable service, allowing both medical professionals and the general public to become more informed and secure in their decision making. Because of the cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary membership, the SMDM promotes better decisions, resulting in better global healthcare outcomes.
References
Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York. McGraw-Hill.
Society for Medical Decision Making – SMDM. (2007). Mission Statement / Values. Retrieved 15 February 2009 from: http://www.smdm.org/mission_values.shtml
