Patient Decision Aids launched by NICE
The aim of a decision aid is to help people facing a decision about treatment or care options (and their family and carers, as appropriate) make an informed choice based on which of the different options’ advantages and disadvantages matter most to them.
In 2023, NICE were commissioned by NHS England to develop a range of Patient Decision Aids (also called Decision Support Tools) on a range of topics:
- Angina: making a decision about stable angina
- Chronic primary pain: making decisions to help you live well with chronic primary pain
- Depression: making decisions about managing depression
- Knee osteoarthritis: making a decision about knee osteoarthritis
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm: making a decision about abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
- Glue ear: making a decision about glue ear if your child has hearing loss
The aim of a decision aid is to help people facing a decision about treatment or care options (and their family and carers, as appropriate) make an informed choice based on which of the different options’ advantages and disadvantages matter most to them.
The decision aids are available on NHS England’s website. You can also find the links on the NICE guideline’s ‘Resources’ tab.
NICE have also included a link in the Information for the Public (IFP) version of the guideline too so that people with lived experience, and their families and loved ones, know that it is an available tool for them to use in discussion with their practitioner you can see this information in the links below:
- Stable angina: management NICE IFP
- Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s NICE IFP
- Depression in adults NICE IFP
- Osteoarthritis in over 16s NICE IFP
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) NICE IFP
- Glue ear NICE IFP
Patient decision aids help people decide on healthcare options. They give evidence-based information on the options available, along with likely outcomes, benefits, harms and uncertainties.
They should be used to inform conversations between a person and their healthcare practitioner, supporting them to make informed choices in line with their personal values and preferences.
These new decision aids could have a significant impact on people with lived experience and/or their families and loved ones by:
- facilitating a more informed conversation, with clearly laid out options
- providing helpful prompts and questions for them to pursue with the practitioner
- demystifying medical jargon.
