BOSTON, MA and BOISE, ID--(Marketwired - Mar 2, 2015) - Just 25 years ago, the practice of medicine was quite different. A patient might walk into a doctor's office, describe her symptoms, and be prescribed a treatment, without much thought to what the patient wanted or valued. Today, it's more common for a shared decision making (SDM) conversation to occur, but the journey to achieve widespread adoption of SDM is far from over.
In March, the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation, which is now a division of Healthwise, will build on its pioneering work in SDM and once again host Shared Decision Making Month, pulling together experts from around the world to bring shared decision making to mainstream health care. Activities during this monthlong initiative will highlight the best in SDM thought leadership and real-world implementation.
"For 25 years, the Foundation has worked toward making shared decision making part of routine care," said Michael Barry, president of the Foundation. "SDM Month presents an opportunity to recognize our collaborative power to create a more compassionate and patient-centered health care system."
Our SDM Month contributors will share their experience and expertise through webinars, blog posts, an author discussion, and a tweet chat, focusing on four themes:
- Nurses at the intersection of shared decision making
- Amplifying the patient's voice in medical decisions
- Shared decision making as a quality-improvement approach
- Employers promoting shared decision making
SDM Month was established by the Foundation in 2013 and first held in March of that year. By definition, shared decision making is a collaborative process, and so is this initiative.
"This year we are excited to be hosting SDM Month as a division of Healthwise," said Barry. "As a combined organization, we will more quickly advance shared decision making to give patients a stronger voice in their own care."
In 2014, the Foundation merged with fellow nonprofit Healthwise and united under a common mission to help people make better health decisions. As a division of Healthwise, the Foundation focuses on research and advocacy, capitalizing on its 25-year history of SDM expertise, while Healthwise works on getting technology solutions to health care systems and insurers to better improve the patient and clinician experience.
More information on SDM Month can be found at www.sdmmonth.org.
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. In 2014, Healthwise merged with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation to further advance the mission. People have turned to Healthwise information more than 1.5 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646.
© 2015 Healthwise, Incorporated.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise.
Contact Information:
Steph Synoracki
Marketing and Communications Specialist
Healthwise
617-573-4649