Allergen immunotherapy and shared decision-making

Clinical decision-making in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis management involves a significant degree of complexity given the number of pharmaceutical agents; the option for allergen immunotherapy (AIT); and the risk for disease advancement, including the development of asthma as well as new environmental allergic sensitivities. Given the complex array of treatment options that are currently available, there is an opportunity to use a shared decision-making (SDM) approach with associated aids and tools that facilitate the interactive participation of practitioners and patients in the SDM process. This article reviews the general constructs of SDM, the unmet need for SDM aids, the collection of patient preference data for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, the utility of SDM aids which have been specifically created for AIT, and outlines actionable steps to implement AIT SDM in clinical practice.