Aims of the Sydney Health Decision Group

The aim of the Sydney Health Decision Group is to facilitate evidence-based decision making at the level of the consumer, clinician and policymaker. Our focus to date has been the development of tools and methods to support health decisions in the field of cancer screening and treatment. However, our work also involves decision support in a wide range of medical settings which reflect our members’ interests and areas of expertise.

Our vision is that the clinical consultation of the 21st century will involve clinicians and patients viewing evidence on computer screens together, accessing online registries of clinical trials, and using the web to find and download evidence-based shared decision making tools such as patient decision aids which help clinicians and patients integrate evidence and patient preferences into clinical decisions. Thus consultations will include discussion of patients’ preferences for involvement in decision-making and a sophisticated process of communication and decision-making tailored to the patient’s health status and management preferences. This vision presents many challenges but is one that is shared by leaders in health and one that holds potential benefits for patients, clinicians and funders. It will provide the means to implement evidence-based shared decision in practice.