NEW YORK, NY—June 4, 2025—Shared decision-making tools from the national, independent nonprofit FAIR Health can help support decision making between older patients and their healthcare providers at the clinical point of care. This and other insights are highlighted in a new FAIR Health brief, Shared Decision-Making Tools for Older Adults in a Clinical Setting: Insights from a Learning Exchange with Healthcare Providers . The brief summarizes key takeaways from a recent discussion hosted by FAIR Health with clinicians from four Age-Friendly Health Systems clinical sites that are collaborating with FAIR Health to use and help evaluate FAIR Health’s shared decision-making tools (combining clinical and cost information) and other resources in clinical settings. This effort is part of a national initiative, generously funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation . Access the brief here .
FAIR Health’s groundbreaking collaborations with the four clinical sites—Penn Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Emory University and University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute—are part of its grant-funded effort to educate older adults and family caregivers about shared decision making—the discussion between patients (and caregivers) and providers to decide on treatment and care, balancing clinical evidence with patients’ preferences and values—through its free shared decision-making tools and resources available on FAIR Health for Older Adults ( fairhealtholderadults.org ). The practice aligns with “what matters” to patients, a pillar of the 4Ms framework of age-friendly care .
In March 2025, FAIR Health convened an online Learning Exchange session with clinicians at the four participating sites to facilitate a discussion of their experiences with implementation at the clinical point of care of the tools and resources freely available on FAIR Health for Older Adults . Takeaways from the discussion are summarized in FAIR Health’s brief . Among the key insights shared by the clinicians during the session:
FAIR Health will publish a full report on the critical insights gleaned from this grant-funded initiative by early 2026. This initiative builds on a prior planning grant awarded by The John A. Hartford Foundation and prior grant-funded shared decision-making initiatives , during which FAIR Health developed a set of condition-specific shared decision-making tools that combine clinical and cost information. These tools are available in English and Spanish on the free, national website FAIR Health for Older Adults , developed with funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation. FAIR Health concurrently is implementing a New York City-based program geared for older adults, funded by The New York Community Trust .
Rani Snyder, acting president at The John A. Hartford Foundation, said, “These insights show that shared decision-making tools can help clinicians deliver age-friendly care that focuses on what matters most to patients. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, these tools are flexible and can be used by diverse types of clinicians in a range of care settings and at different times in the care process.”
Access the brief here .
To access the free tools, educational content and resources for older adults, visit FAIR Health for Older Adults. To see the Spanish version, please click here .
To learn more about using the shared decision-making tools with their patients, clinicians 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.
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute are participating clinical sites. Nothing herein is to be construed as an endorsement by OSU, by Penn Medicine or by Wilmot Cancer Institute of any service or product.
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