title: Support needed to involve psoriasis patients in treatment decisions: survey of dermatologists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the interaction between dermatologists and their patients in facilitating treatment decisions for psoriasis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to determine dermatologists' perceptions of the needs of psoriasis patients in treatment decisions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dermatologists were invited to complete an 18-item online survey on the treatment of psoriasis, including questions on decision-making roles, factors they considered important to patients in treatment decisions, and patients' needs for decision support.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy dermatologists completed the survey (15% response rate). The highest rated factors in decision making were access to physicians for discussion (86%) and information about the risks and benefits (80%); the latter was more frequently reported by those ≥ 50 years (p  =  .021). Treatment-specific factors of greatest importance were side-effect profile (87%) and cost (80%). Potential hindrances were patient misconceptions about disease, inadequate patient education materials, patient indecision, and inadequate physician time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although dermatologists consider accessibility to dermatologists and information on treatment risk and benefits to be important in treatment decision making, they report time with patients and educational materials to be inadequate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The small sample size may limit the generalizability of our findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. jerrytan@bellnet.ca
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stacey
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barankin
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bissonnette
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gulliver
authors.forename: Harvey
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shear
authors.forename: Shahid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatti
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000628:therapy*; D011792:Quebec; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors