The Role of Physicians’ Recommendations in Medical Treatment Decisions

Andrea D. Gurmankin, Jonathan Baron, John C. Hershey and Peter A. Ubel
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Andrea D. Gurmankin: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
Jonathan Baron: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
John C. Hershey: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
Peter A. Ubel: Department of Medicine, University of Michigan

Medical Decision Making, 2002, vol. 22, issue 3, 262-271

Abstract: Background . A shift away from the medical paternalism of the past has occurred, and today, the law and ethics advocate that physicians share decision-making responsibility with their patients. It is unclear, however, what the appropriate role of physicians’ recommendations ought to be in this new shared decision-making paradigm. One way to approach this question is to assess the influence of physicians’ recommendations. Objective . In this study, the authors examine the influence of physicians’ recommendations on hypothetical treatment decisions. Do physicians’ recommendations influence treatment decisions in scenarios where the decision that maximizes health is obvious and apparent to subjects? Do recommendations pull subjects away from the treatment choice that they otherwise prefer (based on their decision when unaware of the physicians’ recommendation)? Design . An experimental web questionnaire presented hypothetical medical treatment scenarios in which the treatment choice that maximized health was obvious. Across scenarios, the authors varied physicians’ recommendations in 3 ways:(1) physicians’ recommendations supporting what maximized health, (2) physicians’ recommendations that went against what maximized health, and (3) no physicians’ recommendation. The participants were 102 volunteers. Results . Hypothetical treatment decisions were significantly influenced by physicians’ recommendations (P

Keywords: physician recommendation; patient decision making; autonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:medema:v:22:y:2002:i:3:p:262-271

DOI: 10.1177/0272989X0202200314

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