ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Patient involvement (PI) and shared decision making (SDM) have increasingly come into the focus of (inter-)national research. SDM, however, is not a standard component of standard care so far. Therefore it is of importance to take into consideration all parties concerned. This article points out the barriers physicians see; one group has not been interrogated on this topic often. METHOD: 25 physicians at a clinical centre were interviewed about decision-making processes within their environment, their concerns as well as their ideas towards PI. The consultations were realized with the help of a guideline-oriented questionnaire. The outcome was then interpreted by means of the thematic content analysis. RESULTS: A system of categories was constructed containing 28 categories on the micro-, meso-, and macro-level. From a physician's perspective, changes are necessary on all levels to achieve patient involvement and SDM. Essential points of approach for this are: sufficient time and personnel, sufficient communicative abilities in physicians, and a solid physician-patient relationship as well as changes in healthcare politics. CONCLUSIONS: To consistently improve patient involvement and SDM, physicians' concerns must be taken seriously. Here SDM can only be properly applied by taking into account the meso- and macro-level. Furthermore, it would be helpful to clear up the conceptually vague aspects of SDM, which would also help to communicate the concept more clearly.
