Developing shared decision-making programs to improve the quality of health care

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Patient Engagement
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Patient involvement in medical decision-making is increasingly recognized as essential for effective healthcare.
• Shared Decision-Making Programs (SDPs) offer an interactive approach to enhance patient engagement.
• Ensuring fairness, accuracy, and balance in SDPs is critical for their acceptance by both patients and clinicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a well-defined protocol for the development, evaluation, and updating of Shared Decision-Making Programs (SDPs).
• To highlight the importance of patient and physician perception of fairness, accuracy, and balance in SDPs.
• To report on the initial impact and reception of an SDP for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Main Methods:

• Development of a standardized protocol for creating and refining interactive SDPs.
• Evaluation of an initial SDP focused on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
• Assessment of the impact of the BPH SDP on clinical practice patterns.

Main Results:

• The developed protocol provides a framework for creating trustworthy SDPs.
• The initial BPH SDP was well-received by both patients and clinicians.
• The BPH SDP demonstrated a measurable impact on established practice patterns.

Conclusions:

• Interactive SDPs are an effective tool for facilitating patient involvement in medical decisions.
• A rigorous protocol ensures SDPs are perceived as fair, accurate, and balanced, promoting adoption.
• Further development and evaluation of additional SDPs are underway, with plans for widespread availability.