Shared Decision Making in Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee

Study Summary

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is an effective procedure for reducing pain and improving function in patients with disabling osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee. However, as with all invasive procedures, TJA is associated with certain risks and substantial costs. Since the indications for TJA are heavily dependent on patients' quality of life and expectations. TJA utilization rates vary widely throughout the United States, as seen with other 'preference-sensitive' procedures. Early evidence suggests shared decision making (SDM) strategies are effective in enhancing patient decision quality, or the degree to which treatment decisions reflect the preferences of fully informed patients, especially for preference-sensitive procedures like TJA. Despite these advantages, however, SDM has not been embraced or widely adopted in orthopaedics. To investigate this limited uptake, the investigators propose a series of evaluations of individual-level strategies. The investigators innovative and unique contribution is to approach patients, surgeons and healthcare purchasers as having symmetric and equally valid concerns about the benefits and cost associated with SDM. The investigators overall objective is to facilitate wider dissemination of SDM strategies in orthopaedic practices. The specific aims of the project are to assess, for SDM strategies, the impact on key patient, surgeon, and healthcare purchaser priorities; By achieving this aim our project will produce new interventions and incentives for disseminating SDM that are endorsed as feasible and acceptable by a coalition of patients, surgeons, and purchasers. The investigators plans for evaluation include a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of SDM on outcomes of interest to patients, surgeons, and purchasers.

Primary Outcome

We will measure the proportion of patients who will arrive at a more informed decision during the clinic visit through surveys administered before the clinic visit and immediately after the clinic visit. We will ask patients before the clinic visit what treatment decision they are leaning towards, how far along they are with this decision. We will ask patients after the clinic visit, what treatment they want and how far along they are with the decision.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• OTHER Shared Decision Making Intervention

Study Locations (2)