Care Management

Shared Decision Making

Shared Decision Making

University of Utah Health Plans is excited to promote the use of shared decision making tools for providers to engage University of Utah Health Plan members. Beyond pamphlets or health reference information materials - Shared decision-making tools are built to guide a patient through a treatment decision point in their health care together with collaboration, guidance, and the expertise of their clinicians.

“Shared decision making is a key component of patient centered health care. It is a process in which clinicians and patients work together to make decisions and select tests, treatments and care plans based on clinical evidence that balances risks and expected outcomes with patient preferences and values.”
Shared Decision Making Fact Sheet, 2013, National Learning Consortium.

benefits of using shared decision making

The development of shared decision-making tools (SDM’s) has increased in the last decade. University of Utah Health, with a $5 Million Grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the American Heart Association, is creating a center to develop and test SDM’s for Atrial Fibrillation. The Mayo Clinic will be a collaborative partner for conducting the research.

“If people don’t feel engaged in the decision-making process they are less likely to see the benefits of treatments. Instead they may see them as a hassle and not fill their prescriptions or take the medications"
- Angie Fagerlin, Ph.D., chair of Population Health Sciences at University of Utah Health

Example of an interactive SDM tool: Statin Choice

The Mayo Clinic's Statin Decision Tool was designed to assist the patient and their doctor discuss methods for potentially reducing their risk for heart attacks.

 

 

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