Translating research into practice: a German sickness fund supporting patient participation.

OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate how a German sickness fund like the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) tries to translate evidence from research in the field of shared decision-making (SDM) into practice.

METHODS

This article outlines three different initiatives of the TK, supporting patient participation in every day life: information tools, continuous interactive case management, and web-based interactive patient dialogue. These three activities are supposed to show a stepwise development- and introduction-process which is designed to include patient feedback at all stages of progress. Wherever available, empirical data is added to the description of the initiatives. This data contains information about how many people use a special service offered and how useful or satisfying the service is in the users' eyes.

RESULTS

The examples given show that a single sickness fund is able to support patient participation with different kinds of initiatives.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of SDM will be beneficial for the statutory health insurance and will have a positive influence on political and professional decision processes.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The TK will continue and intensify its engagement for SDM in the future.