Dissemination and Implementation of a Shared Decision Making Strategy in Emergency Department Patients with Possible Acute Coronary Syndrome: The Patient Centered Chest Pain Pathway**

Patients in the ED for chest pain who haven't had a heart attack and their doctors can use shared decision making, or SDM, to decide whether to get heart imaging tests in the ED. SDM, is a process in which patients and doctors work together to make healthcare decisions. A PCORI-funded research study found that patients who used a decision aid with information on their personal risk for a heart attack and options for care understood more about their risks and options than patients who didn't use a decision aid. They were also more involved in their care decision and more likely to decide to wait to receive tests instead of getting tests in the ED.

This project put the SDM process with the decision aid in place in six EDs to help patients with chest pain choose the care that works best for them.