title: Minimum standards for the certification of patient decision support interventions: feasibility and application.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patient decision support interventions are not currently subject to standardized quality control. The current study aims to assess the feasibility of applying a proposed set of minimum standards (previously developed as part of a possible certification process) to a selection of existing patient decision support interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of interventions selected from those included in the 2009 Cochrane systematic review of patient decision aids was scored by trained raters using the International Patient Decision Aids Standards (IPDAS) instrument. Scores were then evaluated against the published proposed minimum standards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five out of thirty included interventions met all qualifying criteria while only three met the proposed certification criteria. The changes required for an intervention to meet the proposed certification standards were relatively minor. There was considerable variation between raters' mean scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most interventions did not meet the certification criteria due to lack of information on modifiable items such as update policy and funding source.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Specifying minimum standards for patient decision support interventions is a feasible development. However, it remains unclear whether the minimum standards can be applied to interventions designed for use within clinical encounters and to those that target screening and diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK; The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA.
authors.forename: Marie-Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.affiliation: Cochrane Institute of Primary Care & Public Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.affiliation: Cochrane Institute of Primary Care & Public Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Joseph-Williams
authors.affiliation: Cochrane Institute of Primary Care & Public Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Newcombe
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA.
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Politi
authors.affiliation: Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sivell
authors.affiliation: The Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA. Electronic address: glynelwyn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Glyn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Elwyn
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification / Q000592:standards*; D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D006801:Humans; D010358:Patient Participation; D011786:Quality Control; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
keywords: Decision aid standards; Decision support techniques; Feasibility; Patient decision-making; Shared decision-making