ABSTRACT
A patient comes in to see you and asks about the effectiveness of a contraceptive treatment that you suggest to her. Or more bluntly, ‘Is this going to work? What is the risk of getting pregnant?’ How do you answer this? When a patient comes in and asks, ‘Should I have this PSA test?’ what do you need to know in order to answer? In both of these scenarios, what you tell the patient can have a great impact on his or her decision. In order for your patient to make the best decision, he or she will need to know from you (1) what the most effective options are, (2) the risks and benefi ts for each option and (3) the chance of each risk and benefi t occurring.
