When doctors skip the numbers, patients may misjudge the health risks
When a physician says a procedure is "rarely risky," what does that really mean?
When a physician says a procedure is "rarely risky," what does that really mean? Although terms like "common" and "unlikely" may sound descriptive enough, experts in medical decision-making suggest that leaving out numbers may be misleading for patients.
In a paper published on April 29 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a team of researchers and clinicians explained that patients often overestimate risk estimates, like possible side effects or medical conditions, when given only verbal descriptions. They encourage doctors not to shy away from including numbers, offering a list of five science-backed tricks on how to make those numbers count.
First reported by ScienceDaily: Relationships.
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