1. Get the facts, explore options, and get answers to common questions.
2. Compare options and read stories by people who faced a similar
decision.
3. Gauge their feelings and record their concerns.
4. Assess which way they are leaning by using an interactive slider tool.
5. Check how much they've learned and how confident they are about their
decision.
6. Print a summary of their answers and notes that can be shared with
providers and loved ones.
Use a Decision Point Now
To demo a sample Healthwise Decision Point on knee replacement surgery,
visit http://www.healthwise.org/kneedecision.
Where Can Patients Find Healthwise Decision Points?
Many health plans, hospitals, consumer health portals, and disease
management companies license Healthwise Decision Points for their Web
sites. Healthwise has just released the new tools to its clients. Patients
will begin to see the new Decision Points on their favorite health Web
sites in the coming weeks.
Industry Support for Decision Aids
Decision aids like Healthwise Decision Points are particularly important
for complex health decisions that involve multiple options, scientific
uncertainties, cost differences, and risk-benefit trade-offs. Expert
perspectives suggest that decision aids have the potential to improve
quality and efficiency in the health care system.(1)
A review by Cochrane, a recognized leader in decision aids studies,
identified trials of seven conditions commonly treated surgically among the
Medicare population: arthritis of the hip and knee; low back pain from a
herniated disc; chest pain (stable angina); enlarged prostate (benign
prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH); and early-stage prostate and breast cancer.
The review showed that although the number of people who chose surgery
after shared decision making (compared to control groups) varied from study
to study, a 21-percent to 44-percent decline in surgery was typical.(2)
Should Use Be Rewarded or Required?
To read the white paper by Don Kemper, "Carrot or Stick? Should the Use of
Patient Decision Aids Be Rewarded or Required?" visit
http://www.healthwise.org/paper.
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make
better health decisions. Nearly 120 million times a year, people turn to
Healthwise information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the
care they need, and say "no" to the care that doesn't improve their lives.
Healthwise licenses its content to health plans, hospitals, disease
management companies, and health Web sites to provide up-to-date,
evidence-based information to the people they serve. To learn more about
Healthwise Decision Points, visit www.healthwise.org or call
1.800.706.9646.
(1) "Informed Patient Choice: Patient-Centered Valuing of Surgical Risks
and Benefits," by James N. Weinstein, Kate Clay, and Tamara S. Morgan,
published in Health Affairs, suggests that decision aids have the potential
to improve quality and efficiency in the health care system. (Weinstein J,
Clay K, Morgan T. 2007. "Informed Patient Choice: Patient-Centered Valuing
Of Surgical Risks and Benefits," Health Affairs, 26:726-730).
(2) A.M. O'Connor et al., "Decision Aids for People Facing Health Treatment
or Screening Decisions," Cochrane Database Syst Rev, no. 2 (2003):
CD001431.
© 2009, Healthwise, Incorporated.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo
are trademarks of Healthwise.
1.800.706.9646
www.healthwise.org
Contact Information: Healthwise Contact: Brenda Foster Phone: 208.331.6963 E-mail: