Thinking about the Costs of Care in Shared Decision Making
The theme of NPAF’s Fall Policy Consortium, held November 29, 2018 at the Newseum in Washington, DC, was “Thinking about the Cost of Care in Shared Decision Making.” While both patients and providers acknowledge that these conversations play an increasingly important role in shared decision making, it is clear that there is a great deal of work to be done related to when and how they take place, who is responsible for initiating them and what tools are required to move forward in this critical area.
This Policy Consortium brought together a diverse group of patients, advocates, researchers, providers and policy makers to talk about the impact of financial toxicity on care and ways to “normalize” conversations about cost. The Consortium built on the work that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding in this critical area and that of the Patient Advocate Foundation. Investigators who conducted RWJF supported exploratory research on cost of care conversations with vulnerable populations and integrating these conversations into the clinical workflow as well as partners who are working to disseminate this information were among the presenters and attendees.
Five Key Takeaways
- Patients and caregivers want to talk about the costs of their care but face a range of barriers in having these conversations
- The financial impact of care includes the direct costs of that care but also extends to indirect and life-style related issues
- Physicians and providers are increasingly aware of the need to discuss costs and willing to do so, but often lack the training and tools to have these conversations
- Cost of care conversations are more likely to happen when physicians initiate them–and generally do not take very long
- The key to assuring that costs of care conversations occur is “normalizing,” them–developing the procedures and systems to make these discussions part of the shared decision-making process
Facing Cancer and the Costs of Care: The Patient Perspective
Watch the Full Session: A Conversation with Suleika Jaouad and Gwen Darien
Talking About the Cost of Care: A Conversation
Highlights of the Ema’s talk, Talking about the Cost of Care
Why are Cost of Care Conversations Important?
- Gwen Darien, Facilitator
- Shirley Bridgett, Patient
- Jerry Krishan, MD, PhD, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Susan Perez, MPH, PhD, Consumer Reports
- Tammy T. Taylor, DNP, FNP-BC
Talking About Cost of Care: A Physician Perspective
Incorporating Cost of Care Discussion into the Clinical Work Flow
- Mary Jackson Scroggins, Facilitator
- April Barbour, MD, MPH, FACP, George Washington University School of Medicine and Sciences
- Kim Erwin, MDes, University of Illinois
- Rita Matthews, PAF Case Manager
- Amy Russell, MD, Asheville, North Carolina
- Joshua Seidman, PhD, MHS, Avalere Health