Case study: treatment decisions
you are a doctor treating phil, a man in his fifties, for lung cancer for more than a year. you have been observing that not only are the cancer treatments difficult for phil physically, but they are taking a toll on his mental health. you would like to prescribe an antidepressant to improve phil’s mood. if you can phil’s mental health, studies have shown that his cancer treatment will likely have a better outcome. you know that phil is likely object to the medication if you give him the choice. you could give him all the relevant information about the antidepressant prescription without actually asking for his opinion. how would you proceed?
is this a situation that would benefit from collaborative decision making, or is it better for you, the doctor, to make the call yourself? name at least three pros and three cons for each method of decision-making in this case.