Developing shared decision-making programs to improve the quality of health care.

We strongly believe in the importance of patient involvement in a medical decision. The interactive SDPs appear to be an effective way to facilitate this involvement. One key to the acceptance of these programs by patients and physicians is that they be--and be perceived as--fair, accurate, and balanced. Herein we have described the well-defined protocol for developing, evaluating, and updating SDPs. The first of the foundation's programs dealing with benign prostatic hyperplasia has been well received by patients and clinicians and has been demonstrated to have an impact on practice patterns. Efforts are under way to evaluate four additional programs, leading to widespread availability of the first five SDPs by fall of 1992.