Are You Overloading Patients with Choices?
Are you familiar with the story of the jam samples and consumer choice?
Professor Sheena Iyengar, who studies how people make choices, set up a simple two-stage experiment in a supermarket.
First, the researchers put out samples of six flavors of jam and invited shoppers to try them. Forty percent of people passing by decided to try the samples, and 30 percent made a decision to buy one of them.
In the second stage of the experiment, the researchers laid out 24 different flavors and, perhaps attracted by the impressive display of choices, more people—60 percent this time—stopped and sampled.
But here’s the surprising part: Only three percent of the people in the second stage made a purchase. The conclusion the researchers arrived at is that people like to have choices, but when they have too many choices—especially with no guiding context to help them—they become overwhelmed. Not choosing becomes the simplest choice of all.
Naturally, as health service professionals you have an obligation to let patients know their options. But are you running the risk of overwhelming your patients?
I think the lesson that can be learned here is that you should frame those options in the context of a few compelling scenarios, and don’t be afraid to guide them toward what you know to be the better choices. If they think all the choices you present are equal, people will automatically go for the one that requires the least energy and cost. Or if they feel really lost among the choices, they could simply choose not to do anything at all.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this. In an age where dentistry can provide so many options, how do you go about presenting alternatives to patients without creating decision burnout?
Nice article Imtiaz. I always give patients a recommendation for the very best treatment FIRST. Research has also shown that when consumers are presented with more options, typically, the first option presented is the one they come back to most of the time. I also wait for the patient to ask for other options instead of bombarding them with three or four choices. I also spend way less time highlighting the compromised treatment options if asked.
Another thing that I think handcuffs dentists, is that many of us think we have to come up with multiple options for the patient. Sometimes, we have no other option but the very best so we should just present that, highlighting the risks and benefits and move on. I know from experience, that I have burned up way too much time in practice discussing secondary, and even tertiary treatment options. I would imagine that much of our consultation time in practice is spent wasted on treatment options that we would never choose for ourselves. To make it even more painful, most of the patients that ask for these alternatives to treatment, never really commit to treatment anyway.
So now my thoughts are this.. I think that with everyday dentistry. We should just present the very best when thinking in terms of “single tooth dentistry”. We should recommend what we would have done on ourselves or our best friend. Then, we should only present alternatives only if the patient asks. I have found that many move forward with treatment never asking for an alternative.
With comprehensive cases, I have found it much better to present just two options.
I have found that the more we talk, which happens when giving lots of options, the patients confidence in us deteriorates. They just get more confused and as you said, they typically fail to make a choice.