Implementation
Implementation in these papers mainly refers to the process of embedding practices to improve decision quality into the clinical experience.
Researchers currently are studying how to best integrate decision support tools into clinical practice. An important question for implementing these tools is the time at which they are most effective. In many cases, the optimal timing for decision aid use is prior to consultation with the specialist (for example, the breast surgeon), which can be challenging to accomplish. However, some institutions have been successful at ensuring use of decision aids before patients see specialists. For example, at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, women with a positive breast biopsy report are referred to a decision aid coach prior to their first visit to the breast surgeon.
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Decision aid helps surgeons better communicate treatment options to women contemplating breast cancer surgery. |
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More time—but not physician training in shared decision-making or use of decision aids—improved patient-related aspects of decision-making. |
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Policy experts outline ways to accelerate the adoption of decision aids. |
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The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision-making offers these definitions to provide context for the topic areas
and a deeper understanding of the referenced articles within each topic.