The Summer Institute on Informed Patient Choice

General background:

The Dartmouth Summer Institutes On Informed Patient Choice are held annually under the auspices of the Dartmouth institute for health policy and clinical practice. Fellowships to attend the Institute are awarded each year on a competitive basis.

The overall goal is to identify and mentor the next generation of scientists who are prepared to investigate key basic and applied problems in the field of "patients' decision support" using "patients' decision aids".

Each year, a particular theme guides that year's summer institute.

General definitions:

What is "patients' decision support"?

In many health care situations, there is no single "best" therapeutic action that's indicated for all patients.

Therefore, the goal is to help patients arrive at an informed, preference-based choice among the several relevant therapeutic options.

Patients' decision support (ptds) is a systematic, theory-based clinical strategy for helping those individuals who wish to participate in this decision-making process.

What are "patients' decision aids"?

Patients' decision aids (ptdas) are standardized, evidence-based tools that facilitate ptds.

They are intended to supplement rather than replace patient-practitioner interaction.

Ptdas differ from conventional education materials, which present information about a recommended therapeutic intervention.

Instead, they are designed to help people choose among 2 or more preference-sensitive, clinically acceptable options' including the status quo.

At a minimum, ptdas provide information about the options and their associated relevant outcomes. They also help patients to:

• Personalize this information,
• Understand that they can be involved in choosing among the various options,
• Appreciate the scientific uncertainties inherent in that choice,
• Clarify the personal value or desirability of potential benefits relative to potential harms,
• Communicate their values to their practitioners, and
• Gain skills in the steps of collaborative decision making.

Our partners:

These annual institutes are supported by:

• The Center For Informed Choice at The Dartmouth Institute For Health Policy And Clinical Practice
• The Foundation For Informed Medical Decision Making
• The Agency For Health Care Research And Quality.*

*funding for this conference was made possible in part by 1r13hs017378-01 from the Agency For Healthcare Research And Quality (ahrq). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the department of health and human services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.