Implementation Tools and Resources for Shared Decision Making
Clinical Decision Support
Clinical decision support (CDS) uses health information technology to bring timely information to the point of care to facilitate medical decision making that is evidence-based and patient-centered. CDS tools can be used to support shared decision making (SDM).
AHRQ's CDS Connect Repository includes tools to support SDM, such as:
- CMS's Million Hearts® Model Longitudinal ASCVD Risk Assessment Tool for Shared Decision Making
- Facilitating Shared Decision Making For People Who Drink Alcohol: A Patient Decision Aid
- Managing chronic pain with Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) medication dispense data to inform decision-making
Health Literacy Improvement Tools
Addressing health literacy–when organizations ensure that people can get, understand, and use health information and services–is essential to SDM. If people don't understand their choices, they cannot participate fully in healthcare decisions. AHRQ has developed health literacy improvement tools to improve provider-patient communication, including the AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit.
Patient Engagement Resources
Engaging patients in discussions about their conditions and treatment options is an important element of SDM. AHRQ has many patient engagement guides and tools for hospitals, primary care, and other settings to help prioritize concerns and maximize interactions between providers, patients, and families. These include the following.
- The Toolkit for Engaging Patients to Improve Diagnostic Safety contains two strategies: Be the Expert on You and 60 Seconds to Improve Diagnostic Safety, which together enhance communication and information sharing within the patient-provider encounter to improve diagnostic safety.
- The Be Prepared To Be Engaged strategy encourages patients and their families to prepare for and become more fully engaged in their medical appointments. The goal is to help patients and families set their visit agenda and to be ready, speak up, and ask questions.
- The Encourage Questions Tool helps providers overcome patient hesitancy to pose questions that could provide information important to their decisions.
- The Question Builder, available online or as an app, helps patients create a list of questions they can take to appointments if they are getting a checkup, talking about a problem or health condition, getting a prescription, or discussing a medical test or surgery.
