Akl, Elie A.

Background Although decision aids (DA) can help to communicate evidence to patients, their production is time consuming, often not based on the best available evidence or rapidly outdated. Linking trustworthy guidelines and DA for shared-decision making could both overcome these limitations and enhance guideline dissemination. Objectives To test the feasibility of automatically translating any recommendations from GRADE guidelines into generic and interactive DA accessible on tablet computers for clinicians and their patients in the clinical encounter. Methods As part of the DECIDE project, we developed a framework for translating components of GRADE into DA, following the International Patient Decision Aid Standards. Using a recently published guideline, we implemented that framework in our MAGIC (Making Grade the Irresistible Choice) application – a prototype electronic guideline tool and publication platform that can automatically display recommendations in multilayered presentation formats. Results Our prototype was able to automatically translate a large number of GRADE recommendations and their supporting evidence into electronic and interactive DA. Preliminary results of user-testing in real patient-clinician interactions suggest that these DA can be used at the point of care to discuss estimates of treatment effects for patient relevant outcomes, confidence in estimates, burden of treatment, and cost issues. Discussion This study provides a proof-of-concept that components of GRADE recommendations can be interactively displayed in generic tools for interactive shared-decision making in a wide range of treatment alternatives. Implications for Guideline Developers/Users Our electronic DA offer promising opportunities to disseminate guidelines at the point of care.

Background Traditionally patients are not involved in the development of clinical guidelines, and most current panels include only clinical and methodological experts. We therefore know little about what patients (or healthy lay people) would have recommended if they were provided with the same evidence as experts. Objectives Develop a prototype ‘Recommendation-making game’ which can be used for: (1) Exploring patients and lay people’s reasoning when facing the same evidence as an expert guideline panel; (2) assess whether they give similar value to the outcomes or burdens if the decision of making a recommendation for a patient group was up to them; (3) determine whether their recommendation concur with what they would have decided for themselves. Methods We used game technology to make a generic prototype of an online “Recommendation-making game”, based on structured guidelines published in the MAGIC (Making Grade the Irresistible Choice) application. This approach will enable us to automatically make online surveys out of any guideline/recommendation in the system. In making it into a game we believe people would want to participate, and we can potentially harvest information from a large group of people. The game can also be used in small focus groups for qualitative data collection. Results We will display the prototype at the conference. Discussion Does clinical experts reasoning effects that of patient representatives in a guideline panel? Implications for Guideline Developers/Users GAME-IT explores a new way of harvesting information from patients (or healthy lay people) regarding treatment recommendations.