Communicating risk to patients and the public

Risk communication is an essential part of shared decision making and evidence-based patient choice.1 Discussing a patient's cardiovascular risk, their risk reduction from taking a statin, the risks and benefits of colorectal screening, or the truth behind the tabloids latest claim that vegetable X reduces the risk of cancer Y by 50%, are all examples of everyday general practice consultations that involve communication about risk information. Effective risk communication is important for the doctor and the patient. Mrs Jones is more likely to choose to take her statin if she understands what is meant by her 10-year cardiovascular risk being 24%, and if she decides based on the information her doctor provides that reducing this risk is worth the trouble of taking a tablet, she may be more likely to adhere to the chosen treatment.2 Otherwise, it may end up contributing to the large stockpile of pills in her bathroom cabinet. Conversely, both Mrs Jones and her doctor may be satisfied about a decision not to take medication, if it is based on clearly understood information about the harms and benefits of medication. Risk communication is defined as: > ‘The open, two-way exchange of information and opinion about risk, leading to a better understanding of the risk in question, and promoting better (clinical) decisions about management.’3 The communication of risk has to meet some complex needs for patients, and is difficult to achieve well. Be it a public screening programme or a matter of starting a new treatment, providing evidence-based risk and benefit information to patients and ensuring adequate understanding and accurate perception of such information by patients, forms the cornerstone of informed decision making. Evidence suggests that greater levels of informed choice are associated with greater satisfaction with the process of care and, crucially, improved adherence to …