A Universal Decision Support System: Addressing the Decision Making Needs of Patients, Families, and Clinicians in the Setting of Critical Illness.

A Universal Decision Support System: Addressing the Decision Making Needs of Patients, Families, and Clinicians in the Setting of Critical Illness.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 Jul 14;
Authors: Cox CE, White DB, Abernethy AP
Abstract
In the setting of a complex critical illness, preference-sensitive decision making-choosing between two or more reasonable treatment options-can be difficult for patients, families, and clinicians alike. A common challenge to making high-quality decisions in this setting is a lack of critical information access and sharing among participants. Decision aids-brochures, web applications, and videos-are a major focus of current research because mounting evidence suggests they can improve decision making quality and enhance collaborative shared decision making. However, many decision aids have important limitations including a relatively narrow capacity for personalization, an inability to gather and generate clinical data, a focus on only a single disease or treatment, and high developmental costs. To address these issues and to help guide future research, we propose a model of 'universal' electronic decision support that can be easily adapted by clinicians and patients/families for whatever decision is at hand. In this scalable web-based platform, a general shared decision making core structure would accommodate simple, interchangeable disease and treatment information modules. The format and content of ...

Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine - July 14, 2014 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Cox CE, White DB, Abernethy AP Tags: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Source Type: research