Goals of Treatment

#Separate the treatment aim from a promised outcome

NICE's shared-decision guideline recommends explaining the healthcare aim of each option and how it relates to the person's priorities. NIA advises asking what treatment will and will not do, how likely it is to work and how long it continues. An aim describes what treatment is intended to achieve; it does not establish that this result will happen.

Ask which problem the proposed treatment addresses, what benefit is expected and what is uncertain. The answer depends on the condition, the option and the person. This general page does not identify an appropriate goal or estimate the outcome of an individual treatment.

Evidence: NICE NG197: shared decision making / National Institute on Aging: discussing health decisions

#Make room for the outcomes that matter to the person

Oxford University Hospitals asks people to consider health and wellbeing goals, worries, daily-life effects and what quality of life means to them. NIA's guidance includes practical concerns such as cost and whether side effects interfere with valued activities. NICE recommends discussing how clinical aims align with the person's wider goals.

Explain what you hope to be able to do and which burdens concern you. A measurable clinical result and a personally important outcome may be different parts of the same conversation. Naming a priority does not prove that a treatment can meet it; ask the clinician about the fit and any tradeoffs.

Evidence: Oxford University Hospitals: shared decision making / National Institute on Aging: discussing health decisions / NICE NG197: shared decision making

#Clarify the plan and when its goals will be reviewed

NICE recommends agreeing a decision or plan together, stating what happens next and agreeing when to review it. It also recommends recording what mattered to the person in making the decision. Oxford's guidance suggests checking the next step, its timing and the contact for further questions.

Ask how the team will assess progress towards the agreed aim and what should prompt a further discussion. A general explainer cannot set an individual's monitoring schedule. If priorities, concerns or instructions change, discuss them with the responsible team rather than altering treatment from this page.

Evidence: NICE NG197: shared decision making / Oxford University Hospitals: shared decision making

Source note

The sections above were checked against the linked sources. No clinical review has been performed. This is general research education, not a clinical guideline.