The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will host a webinar May 18 to discuss current barriers to implementing shared decision making from both the patient and provider perspectives and strategies for overcoming these barriers. 

Shared decision making occurs when a health care provider and a patient work together to make a health care decision that is best for the patient. A large body of research shows that implementation of shared decision making in clinical practice increases patient satisfaction with their care, enhances patient understanding of their treatment options, and increases their involvement in decisions about their care. There is also emerging evidence that supporting people to share in decision making can improve health outcomes and the extent to which patients adhere to their treatment. Yet shared decision making has not been widely adopted in clinical practice. 

This webinar will address:

1. barriers to shared decision making from both the patient and provider perspectives;
2. strategies for overcoming these barriers in clinical practice; and
3. how identified barriers were considered during the development of the SHARE Approach to facilitate implementation of shared decision making.