1. Everyone is entitled to be involved in deciding whether a medicine is right for them

• Choice should be for everyone, not just for people who are already well equipped to exercise it
• Involvement in deciding about medicines must not become an obligation: some people won't want to be involved, or will want different kinds of involvement at different times
• For some, the right choice might be no medicine

2. Everyone should be able to get good information to make decisions about medicines, from the source they choose

•  “Everyone” includes people traditionally at a disadvantage, facing disability or language barriers
• Good quality information means reliable, practical information from a known source, accessible to its users
• A choice of information sources is important to patients. One size doesn't fit all; patients want to be able to weigh up different sources
  

3. Health care professionals need to help people make choices, and we support them in that

• We encourage health care professionals working in partnership with patients, finding out what their support needs are
• We recognise this is not easy Government training and support will be useful adjuncts
• Peer support can also be valuable: many professionals find that this saves time and makes work more rewarding