Abstract
Background: Shared decision-making (SDM), is a patient-provider collaborative process for making health decisions, accounting for both clinical evidence and patients’ preferences. Women can benefit from improved SDM regarding menopause and associated conditions, which affect aging women.
Purpose: To assess impact of weekly materials related to women’s health sent via secure messaging from an Electronic Health Record (EHR) on knowledge and SDM regarding menopause.
Methods: We implemented an educational intervention for women using the EHR, MyHealtheVet. We enrolled 140 women, ages 45–60, from the Miami Veteran Affairs Healthcare System. After 6-months, participants were surveyed using a study-specific questionnaire and the validated SDM-Q-9.
Results: Post intervention survey respondents included 80 women, mean age 53 ± 4; 76% Non-Hispanic, 24% Hispanic; 44% White, 44% Black; 92% with a college education; and 8% who attended graduate school.
Post-intervention 88% of the women felt more knowledgeable regarding menopause treatment options; 87% recognized that a treatment decision was necessary, 89% felt more confident discussing menopause treatment with their provider, and 77% agreed their ability for SDM improved; 48% stated their doctor asked about their preferred decision-making involvement, 47% felt their doctors asked about their preferences, 51% weighed the options together, 48% agreed on treatment options; 27% planned to make an appointment with provider to discuss hormone therapy.
Conclusions: EHRs represent a novel and practical way to enhance women’s knowledge of menopause and other age-related conditions, and promote SDM. EHRs promise to enhance SDM merits further exploration, as it may improve patient-centered care, adherence, and patient outcomes.