Health Decision Making

Online Health Decision Making Guide

Introduction

Finding the right information and having the skills to engage in health decision making is an important step to managing your or a loved one’s acute or chronic pain condition. This is especially true when there is more than one reasonable option for treatment, which can be the case for pain management. Educating yourself and being well informed will help you to weigh various alternatives, consider your personal preferences and feel more confident in the choices you make.

The best course of treatment is often one that aligns with your own beliefs and values. Of course, the success of various therapies also depends on your individual biological, psychological and social make up.  Pain is a complex experience, and everyone is different. That means what’s right for you may not be right for someone else with the same condition.

The American Pain Foundation created this guide to help people living with pain better understand health decision making. In this information age, we are constantly bombarded with information. While it’s incredibly empowering to know that you can go to your next doctor’s appointment having done some of your own research, it can also be overwhelming to sift through and interpret this information while balancing it with your own priorities for treatment.

Included in this new resource are articles, worksheets and tips to help steer you in the right direction. These include:

• Navigating the Health Care System in Search of Pain Care
• Taking Charge of Your Pain Care: Be Your Own Best Advocate
  o Tip Sheet: Finding quality health information online
• Weighing Your Options, Carefully
  o Worksheet: Narrowing Your Options
  o Worksheet: Weighing the Pros and Cons
• Making Smart Health Decisions & Protecting Your Rights
• Commonly Asked Questions & Answers
• Speak Up! Choosing Different Paths to Relief (coming soon!)
• Resources

As always, please let us know what you think about our publications by sending an email to Publications.

The content of the online guide to health decision making was produced by the American Pain Foundation which is solely responsible for the content, and maintains editorial control, of all materials and publications they produce. We gratefully acknowledge those who support our work. These materials were made possible with support from Medtronic, Inc.

Last Updated: 01/25/10