Demonstrating professionalism through approach, behaviour and attitudes of Realistic Medicine
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You can read the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2020 – 2021, Recover, Restore, Renew, at the Scottish Government website.
One of the main aims of Realistic Medicine is for people using healthcare services and their families to feel empowered to discuss their treatment fully with healthcare professionals, including the possibility that a suggested treatment might come with side effects – or even negative outcomes. Everyone should feel able to ask their healthcare professional why they’ve suggested a test, treatment or procedure, and all decisions about a person’s care should be made jointly between the individual and their healthcare team.
Realistic Medicine is not about failing to offer treatments. It is about supporting people using healthcare services, and their families, to feel empowered to discuss their treatment. That’s why changing our style to sharing decisions with our patients is one of our priorities. A move away from the "Doctor knows best" approach to shared decision making between the professional and patient will require more meaningful discussions about the treatment options available as well as their risks and benefits.
Building a more personalised approach to care, in partnership with people through shared decision making, is perhaps the most important aim of Realistic Medicine. We must create a more open and trusting atmosphere that facilitates more meaningful conversations between people and their healthcare professionals that help people make informed choices about their treatment and care options, based on what matters most to them.
Healthcare professionals are the stewards of healthcare resources. We know that overuse of investigation and treatment can result in harm to patients. By seeking out and eliminating harm and waste, we can provide healthcare that people really value.
Tackling unwarranted variation is essential to improving outcomes derived from healthcare across Scotland. Unwarranted variation is variation in healthcare that cannot be explained by need, or by explicit patient or population preferences. We need to ensure the prevention of harm and waste from overuse and overtreatment, freeing up resources currently used without benefit to clinical outcomes in order to address under-provision of care.
Realistic Medicine is not about failing to offer treatments. It is about supporting people using healthcare services, and their families, to feel empowered to discuss their treatment.
To practise Realistic Medicine, we must embrace the best international evidence, employ sound clinical judgment and support empowerment by listening to what matters most to patients. We need to make more effective use of knowledge and skills across the multi-professional knowledge base, and foster the conditions to support innovation in care delivery.
April 12, 2021
Post-event feedback received following the webinar launch of the CMO Annual Report 2020 – 2021: Restore, Recover, Renew, has been collated in the slide show below. Thank you to all attendees who submitted their feedback to us via Twitter and the post-event survey. Please click a slide to view the responses.
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April 12, 2021
The recent publication of the CMO’s annual report for 2020 – 2021: Recover, Restore, Renew highlighted the importance of tackling unwarranted variation in practice and outcomes. Progress made in the delivery of the Healthcare Science National Delivery Plan 2015–2020 around adopting principles of a Realistic Medicine approach led to the publication of the National Demand…
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April 8, 2021
There are a growing number of people in Scotland living with multiple, complex and fluctuating health conditions for whom personalised, careful and kind care is vital. All elements of an emergency admission cannot be planned for, and although many people may have an Anticipatory Care Plan, it may not help when faced with decisions about…
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April 23, 2021
“Abandoned”, “isolated”, “alone” were just some of words shared by survivors and their families, following an episode of critical illness requiring intensive care. Not only did the patient not know the person they had become, families didn’t recognise the relative they brought home. These recovery stories were shared following attendance at our post-intensive care rehabilitation…
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