Shared Decision Making and Patient Decision Aids

My latest legal briefing for the The Journal of Clinical Ethics is out:  “Legal Briefing: Shared Decision Making and Patient Decision Aids."  It was a pleasure to write this with Melinda Hexum with whom I prepared the last legal briefing on POLST.  This is one of the most exciting, and soon-to-be revolutionary, developments in health law and bioethics.  



The citation is 24(1) J. Clinical Ethics 2013; 24(1): 70-80.  Here is the abstract:

This “Legal Briefing” column covers recent legal developments involving patient decision aids. This topic has been the subject of recent articles in JCE. It is included in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And it has received significant attention in the biomedical literature, including a new book, a thematic issue of Health Affairs, and a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Moreover, physicians and health systems across the United States are increasingly integrating decision aids into their clinical practice. 

Both federal and state laws play a significant role in promoting this expanded use. On the other hand, concerns about liability could stymie development and implementation.

We categorize legal developments concerning patient decision aids into the following five sections:  1. Development of decision aids2.   Effectiveness of decision aids; 3. Federal regulation of decision aids; 4. State regulation of decision aids; 5. Legal concerns regarding decision aids