Better decisions together

People who are active participants in their own care - in cooperation with health care providers - tend to have better outcomes. Yet often patients receive treatment without fully understanding their options and engaging in the decision process. The National Nursing Centers Consortium is collaborating with Temple University and the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making to implement this patient provider decision sharing project in member centers. The goal is to empower patients to take a more active role in the health care decision making process and enable them to access treatment that appropriately reflects their values. The project targets uninsured and Medicaid-qualified patients in six federally qualified health centers, serving primarily public housing residents and the homeless. The Project empowers patients to engage in meaningful dialogue with health care providers in making decisions about their health. The project continues to use DVD decision aids produced by Health Dialogue. RN care managers assist with understanding of the content in the decision aids, the inclusion of the individual patient's values and help patients to act upon their decision. Currency of evidence for the decision aids is maintained by the Foundation for Informed Decision Making (www.informedmedicaldecisions.org). The decision aids selected, pre- and post-viewing surveys and 30 day follow-up surveys will be shared, along with the impact of practice re-design and adding shared decision making to job responsibilities.