Factors affecting medical decision-making in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip: allocation of surgical priority.

Purpose: The purpose was to determine (1) how well doctors' assessments of patients matched the patients'own self assessments and (2) what doctors looked for in terms of patient factors (such as pain and dysfunction, radiographic evidence) that influenced their decisions to allocate priority for hip replacement.

Method: Data collected independently from patients and surgeons after consultation were used to investigate medical decision-making. Patients were 74 consecutive patients who were offered total hip replacement in an orthopaedic outpatient department at a single hospital.