Shared decision making (NICE guideline NG197)

Shared decision making

Shared decision making is a collaborative process that involves a person and their healthcare professional working together to reach a joint decision about care. Shared decision making should be part of everyday practice across all healthcare settings.

Remit and target users

This guideline covers how to make shared decision making part of everyday care in all healthcare settings. It promotes ways for healthcare professionals and people using services to work together to make decisions about treatment and care. It includes recommendations on training, communicating risks, benefits and consequences, using decision aids, and how to embed shared decision making in organisational culture and practices. These recommendations will be of interest to everybody who delivers healthcare services, commissioners of health and public health services, adults (aged 18 and over) using healthcare services, their families, carers and advocates, and the public. It may also be relevant for social care practitioners, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and people who use social care services.

How this guideline was developed

This guideline was developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) according to the process set out in Developing NICE guidelines: the manual and is endorsed by SIGN for use in NHSScotland.

NICE guideline [NG197] Published: 17 June 2021