Austin Frakt on the Importance of Patients Making Informed Care Decisions

When patients overestimate the benefits of intervention and underestimate the harms of treatments, they may not be receiving the right forms of care that they should be, said Austin Frakt, PhD, health economist and researcher.

He adds that its critically important that patients make informed decisions so that he or she can then add or drop care as needed.

“This isn’t really necessarily about reducing care or reducing health spending, although that could happen,” Dr Frakt explains. “It’s more about making informed choices so that the care that’s delivered is of greatest value to the patient based on what they think is right for them.”