Alison M. Heru tagged posts

Alison M. Heru, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, University
of Colorado Denver

In the NES Program at University of Colorado Health, a six-month program combining neurology and psychiatry treatment for non-epileptic or non-electrical seizures, psychiatrist Dr. Alison Heru makes shared decision making an integral part of practice.

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Alison M. Heru, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver

In the NES Program at University of Colorado Health, a six-month program combining neurology and psychiatry treatment for non-epileptic or non-electrical seizures, psychiatrist Dr. Alison Heru makes shared decision making an integral part of practice.

In my experience, shared decision making yields the best results in treatment. When patients feel like they have participated in choosing the treatment and are able to ask questions and weigh alternatives, they are more likely to feel they have selected the treatment that is the best for them and have a stronger stake in the outcome.

At the NES program (addressing non-electrical seizures), there’s not clear evidence for which treatment approach will be best for each patient. It’s my role, then, to make sure we make the correct diagnosis, provide information about the treatment modalities available, and decide together with the patient (and the patient’s family, unless not available) on the treatment plan. I won’t tell the patient what to do or to force a choice on them, but I will offer my opinion.

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