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Cards aid JIA patients, parents in communication, decision making about medications
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Cards designed to facilitate shared decision making on medications have been well accepted by patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, their parents and clinicians, according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in San Diego.
“Shared decision making [SDM] is a process where physicians share information about treatment options, and patients and their parents share information about their goals and preferences,” researcher Esi Morgan DeWitt, MD, MSCE, associate professor, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said in a press release. “Together, a treatment plan is developed that is the best for the patient and their families.”
Based on observations made during office visits and interviews with clinicians, DeWitt and colleagues developed a series of issue cards to address concerns about the increasing number of medications available to patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Within the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN), the researchers refined and streamlined the cards through 18 iterations before arriving at six categories. Each category — how soon medications will take effect, how often they are given, their potential side effects, their cost, the duration of treatment and other considerations — represented the medication attributes deemed most important by patients and their parents during physician visits.
Physicians show the illustrated cards to patients and their families and ask which topic they want to discuss first. Patients’ families and clinicians at 11 PR-COIN sites have widely accepted the cards, DeWitt said. The cards also are available in an interactive electronic format.
“Our ultimate goal is to drive improvement in child JIA outcomes by reliably engaging patients and parents in SDM to select a medication that is a good fit,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
For more information:
DeWitt EM. #2212: Development of Tools to Facilitate Shared Decision Making About Medications for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis – A Project of the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network. Presented at: the 2013 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting; Oct. 26-30, San Diego.