Discussion of factors important to shared decision making for surgery in the primary care setting: free text responses from general practitioners
| ‘Limited to the knowledge I had on the subject.’ |
| ‘Up to the point of knowledge for these issues, which is limited!’ |
| ‘I refer to a surgeon after I have had a discussion with the patient about risks/benefits. The surgeon/anaesthetist is best placed to decide about suitability of a procedure, however, there is scanty information relayed to us about why a particular decision was made. So, when a patient comes back to discuss this, we have little information to base our discussion on.’ |
| ‘I would only refer a patient for surgery if, in my opinion, the outcome would be beneficial or surgery is inevitable, but my discussion with the patient would be very much around modifiable factors and risk reduction / lifestyle counselling, if relevant.’ |
| ‘I think GPs may overestimate the risk of surgery.’ |
| ‘If a person has done research online and wants a referral for surgery, it is much quicker to accept and go ahead than try to dissuade. If you do, often you will be accused of trying to save money or it may be perceived that you are dismissing their problems.’ |
| ‘I try as much as possible to discuss risks and benefits with patients, but am not always aware of all of the risks associated with certain procedures and therefore this can be difficult to do at times.’ |