Risks and Values in Treatment Decision Making

Abstract

The 1984 Oral Health Strategy defined oral health as a subjective state rather than an objective one. It also made clear that oral health was far more than the mere absence of oral disease.

Healthcare outcomes can therefore only be evaluated by the individual receiving healthcare rather than by those who provide it. The task of the healthcare provider is to determine the probability of achieving particular health outcomes.

Weighting the value of an outcome by the probability with which it will occur can inform decision-making. The decisions which result from using such a system are sometimes counterintuitive but ensure that the patient's values are fully incorporated into the decision-making process. This is particularly important in cases where the problem is aesthetic rather than pathological. Patients’ evaluations of health outcomes are also known as health state utilities. Even if only considered implicitly, use of utility weighting ensures that patient consent is informed consent and encourages communication and understanding between patient and practitioners.