In this episode we delve into the world of healthcare decision making. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Sepucha, who collaborated on a study funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, discuss the importance of shared decision-making and its impact on patient care. Collaboration between patients and their care teams empowers patients to actively participate in their treatment plans, factoring their values and goals. Samira also shares her personal decision making struggle during her breast cancer treatment.

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Key Highlights:

About our guests:

Dr. Karen Sepucha is the director of the Health Decision Sciences Center in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an associate professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research is focused on helping patients and families become meaningfully involved in significant medical decisions. Dr. Sepucha oversees efforts to promote shared decision making in primary and specialty care at MGH and across MassGeneral Brigham Health Care.

Dr. Leigh Simmons is the Medical Director of the MGH Health Decision Sciences Center where she studies the use of decision aids to help patients and clinicians in the shared decision making process. Dr. Simmons develops and conducts training of physicians and staff in communication skills focused on improving decision making with patients. Her clinical practice is with the Internal Medicine Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to her clinical and research interests, Dr. Simmons is a medical student educator and directs the internal medicine clerkship for Harvard Medical School students at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Key Moments:

10 minutes: On the power of shared decision-making. “We really see this shared decision making, it's a process, right? And ideally it's a process that really fosters good communication and also sort of built on the foundation recognizing the expertise that different parties bring to the table.”

25 minutes: On the value of decision aids in elevating conversations. “While we would never make the case that it's going to save time to use a decision aid, the goal is that it would be fairly time neutral if introduced properly, if it's done as pre-work for a visit, getting this to patients at the right time, when they're facing a decision and getting them to watch it and review it.”

41 minutes: On the importance of the patient perspective. “Care usually only gets better if we invite the people who are living with the condition every day to contribute the thoughts they have been having about their disease.”

This episode was supported by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and features 2 studies (Study 1 & Study 2) by Dr. Sepucha & Dr. Simmons.

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