These programs help patients:
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Evaluate treatment options and possible outcomes |
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Think about what is important to them |
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Participate in the decision process with their health care providers |
In addition to establishing shared decision-making as a standard of patient care, the Spine Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical School serves as a lab for the Foundation to review and develop its portfolio of back and spine care Shared Decision-Making programs.
Through the DHMC Center for Shared Decision Making, patient feedback is collected to establish what facts and values patients feel are important to making a decision about treatment for their spine conditions. These facts and values are then used to help evaluate decision quality and to develop new tools and questionnaires to evaluate patient satisfaction with their treatment decisions and outcomes.
What Have We Learned So Far
Overall, Spine Center patients who viewed the Shared Decision-Making programs before choosing a treatment reported high satisfaction with their preparation for decision-making and high resolution of conflict about their decision.
Additionally, Spine Center patients who viewed the programs chose to have less invasive procedures than patients who did not participate in shared decision-making.
Listen to the NPR report about the Dartmouth Hitchcock Spine Center: “For Back Pain, Few Easy Answers on Surgery” |
