Clinicians Find Shared Decision-Making Tools Valuable for Engaging Vulnerable Older Patients

NEW YORK, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Price-informed shared decision-making tools developed by FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit, can facilitate meaningful healthcare discussions between clinicians and diverse older adults and their family caregivers in safety-net clinical settings.¹ This and other insights emerged from a recent FAIR Health Learning Exchange discussion with clinicians who are using the price-informed tools at three New York City clinical sites under the FH^® SHARE (Sharing Healthy Aging Resources and Education) NYC initiative. The findings are summarized in a new FAIR Health brief, Price-Informed Shared Decision Making for Diverse Older Adults: Insights from a New York City Learning Exchange.

FH SHARE NYC is generously funded by The New York Community Trust, the community foundation for New York City, Long Island and Westchester. Clinicians at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Ryan Health, all of which are recognized Age-Friendly Health Systems, underscored the utility of the FAIR Health older adult tools in facilitating care decisions. Access the brief here.

Key Insights

• The price-informed shared decision-making tools can help patients, families and caregivers better understand patient diagnoses and related treatment options. Especially for individuals with low health literacy, the tools can increase understanding and enable clear conversations among clinician, patient and caregiver.
   
• The Alzheimer's disease shared decision-making tool and end-of-life decision-making tools are especially valuable to families and caregivers. The Alzheimer's tool can help in evaluating the utility of Alzheimer's treatments and in working with clinicians to formulate a plan for future needs, and the end-of-life tools can help families make difficult decisions together.
   
• Ease of access enhances the utility of the tools. Participants noted that the tools' availability on a free website allows for easy use in diverse clinical settings and at different points in the workflow, by various healthcare professionals and at many stages of the treatment process.
  
  
• Printed shared decision-making tools are valued by many patients and families to supplement or substitute for digital technology. Patients, caregivers and families may lack prerequisites for use of technology (e.g., home Wi-Fi, smartphones, email addresses, prior experience with technology). All participants now use paper printouts alongside digital tablets.
   
• Cost discussions were found to be more of a priority for family caregivers than for many patients, especially patients insured by Medicaid and/or Original Medicare, perhaps due to plan designs that largely mitigate cost sharing for patients. Caregivers may have greater health literacy and more insight into the implications of treatment, such as logistics, long-term management and potential financial burdens.

FH SHARE NYC builds on prior grant-funded shared decision-making initiatives undertaken by FAIR Health. Its insights will inform FAIR Health's national expansion of point-of-care use of the tools under a current grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Ray Campbell, President of FAIR Health, said, "FAIR Health is grateful for the generous support of The New York Community Trust to expand price-informed shared decision making for older adults. Clinicians across New York City's diverse clinical settings are finding meaningful ways to put these tools to work with older patients and their families, helping them make informed decisions about their care."

Esther Lok, Program Director, Health, Behavioral Health, and Human Services at The New York Community Trust, said, "We're proud to support FAIR Health's important work helping older adults who rely on safety-net services engage more meaningfully in their health care choices. It's encouraging that clinicians are finding practical ways to use these tools across different care settings, and that patients and their caregivers are better equipped to make decisions that reflect what matters most to them."

Access the brief here.

To access the free tools, educational content and resources for older adults, visit FAIR Health for Older Adults. The Spanish version is available here.

Institutions and clinicians interested in using the shared decision-making tools with their patients can contact Gee Kim, FAIR Health Clinical Liaison, at gkim@fairhealth.org.

The decision aids are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. They are intended to provide information to help users engage in shared decision making with health professionals.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Ryan Health were participating clinical sites. Nothing herein is to be construed as an endorsement by NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Ryan Health of any service or product.

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About FAIR Health
FAIR Health's mission is to supply objective, unbiased information for all stakeholders to improve healthcare quality, access and affordability. It holds the nation's largest collection of commercial healthcare claims data, which is growing at a rate of more than four billion claim records a year. A national Qualified Entity certified by CMS, FAIR Health also receives all claims for individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D. As a testament to its reliability and objectivity, FAIR Health's data products—including pricing benchmarks and custom analytics—are widely used by commercial insurers and self-insurers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government, researchers and more. FAIR Health has been designated an official data source for state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs, and surprise billing laws that protect consumers. FAIR Health's free consumer website and mobile app, available in English and Spanish, enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenses and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health is a national, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

¹Safety-net clinical settings provide healthcare for vulnerable populations regardless of their ability to pay.

CONTACT:  Rachel Kent, rkent@fairhealth.org

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SOURCE FAIR Health