The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) was proud to join 42 patient advocacy groups in signing onto the Alliance for Aging Research's letter calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish clear guidance implementing the program to facilitate shared decision-making (SDM) that is called for in statute. The letter strongly encourages CMS to advance shared decision-making fundamentals for healthcare organizations, establish a measurement framework for shared decision-making, and then implement the “Drivers of Change” outlined by the National Quality Partners Playbook: Shared Decision-Making in Healthcare. “We share the goals presented in the statute calling for CMS to establish standards for shared decision making that provides patients and providers with information about trade-offs among treatment options and facilitates the incorporation of patient preferences and values into the medical plan,” the letter states. “It is imperative that standards be accompanied by meaningful investments in building the capacity for high quality shared decision-making, such as eliminating barriers to use of telehealth, so that it is not a perceived burden on the health system.”
The letter in its entirety can be read here.
| sdm-letter-to-cms-final.pdf |