How do I enter a shared decision?

SPECIAL NOTE: The “Shared Decision” tab is used by Med Staff users, but can be viewed by all staff users.

Once a Health Report has been reviewed, it's time to complete the shared decision-making process, and enter a shared decision into the CommonGround software. You can do this from the Shared Decision Tab at the top of the client's Health Report.

My Power Statement

The Shared Decision page opens with the client’s Power Statement. While this also appears on the Client Report page, it is included here to remind both the practitioner and the client of how the client wants treatment to help. The Power Statement should be reviewed at the beginning of the shared decision-making process.

Our Shared Decision

The Shared Decision itself is captured in the “Our Shared Decision” section of the page. The light blue box is a text field where you can type in the agreed upon action(s) the client will take between appointments. There is some leading text to get you started - “In order to meet the goals in my power statement, we agree between now and my next appointment I will..."

Fidelity Standards

In order for Shared Decisions to be most effective, they must meet 4 fidelity standards:

They should be written in the client’s voice. Clients go home with a copy of their shared decision. Writing it in their voice helps them take ownership of what they agreed to do between now and next appointment.
Shared decisions should be unique to the individual - not formulaic or duplicated from other clients.
They should also be in plain language - not including clinical language, technical jargon or abbreviations.
Shared decisions should include a specific activity the client will DO for their recovery between now and your next appointment.

Adding information about medication changes is ok, but be sure to discuss and agree upon an action step the person can Do. This supports activation and empowerment - it gives the message that clients have the power to affect change in their own lives.

Information RX

Another section of the shared decision page is Information Rx. This feature provides auto-generated suggestions in response to the choices a client made while completing the CommonGround survey. These suggestions are linked to various resources and exercises a client can use to help resolve decisional uncertainty or to further their understanding and participation in recovery. The actual suggestion can be reviewed by clicking on the title of the suggestion.

During the medication consultation, you can choose to prescribe this information by clicking on "approve", disregard the suggestions by clicking on "delete", or search for other resources by clicking on “Add Information Rx”. Then, resources can be searched for, either by category or keyword.

Support Requested

The “Support Requested” feature in another component of the shared decision page. Clicking on the “Add Support” button brings up a list of other team members who could support the client in following through with the shared decision.

Additionally, the name of an individual can be typed in in the text field "Add Outside Entity". This is useful when a client selects a family member or friend to be their supporter for the task.

General Notes

Finally, There is a space for general notes to capture anything else discussed outside of the shared decision.

Save Work and Lock Report

When finished, finalize the shared decision by clicking on the “Save Work and Lock Report” button. You will be asked to enter your initials confirming you wish to lock the health report. Once a shared decision is locked, it cannot be altered.

An auto-print screen pops up so the page can be printed, and the client leaves the appointment with their shared-decision on hand as a physical reminder to carry through with the agreed-upon action steps.