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Leading Patient Organizations Collaborate to Improve Patient Care in IBD Through Shared Decision-Making

Issue Request for Proposal to Identify Best Practices

Contact: Aimee Frank (AGA) 
[email protected]
301-941-2620
Jeanine Kober (Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation)
646-943-7481 
[email protected]

New York, NY (Sept. 11, 2017) — The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (Foundation) and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), in collaboration with Pfizer, Inc., announced today a request for proposal (RFP), around interventions that aim to improve shared decision-making and promote effective health communication between patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their clinicians. The goal is to identify and/or establish best practices around shared decision-making that can be easily replicated, broadly disseminated, and widely adopted within the IBD community. 

“There is evidence that shared decision-making has a positive impact on certain outcomes. There are tools available to facilitate the process; however, it is not routinely implemented into practice,” said Laura Wingate, Senior Vice President of Education, Support and Advocacy for the Foundation. “There are a number of obstacles to implementation: physicians may not be aware the tools exist, how to access them, or how to incorporate them into a busy clinical practice.”

The chosen projects will aim to address these issues and overcome potential barriers by identifying or establishing best practices around shared decision-making that can be easily replicated, broadly disseminated, and widely adopted within the IBD community. 

“Communication is critical to shared decision-making, yet research shows gaps in communication between patients and clinicians,” said Douglas C. Wolf, MD, an AGA member who served on the RFP steering committee. “When conversations do occur, there is often a difference between patients with IBD and the physicians who treat them in terms of their level of satisfaction with the discussions, reinforcing the need for new standards and protocols.”

Using an expert panel, AGA, the Foundation, and Pfizer will select two projects for funding by December 2017. The projects will be fully funded from 2018 through 2019 in the amount of $500,000 each, over two years. Applicants are encouraged to design programs or initiatives that explore or address gaps in communication in areas ranging from lifestyle and social issues to challenges related to determining treatment options. 

The RFP steering committee is representative of key stakeholders, including an expert in shared decision-making, community and advanced practice providers, and an IBD patient. AGA and the Foundation would like to thank Brooke Abbott, Michael Gionfriddo, MD, Karen Hanson, APRN, CNP, and Doug Wolf, MD, for their time and commitment to this important endeavor. 

The RFP is open from Sept. 11 – Oct. 13, 2017. Awardees will be determined by Nov. 22. The full RFP is available at http://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/science-and-professionals/research/shareddecisionmaking.html.


About the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is the largest non-profit, voluntary, health organization dedicated to finding cures for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The Foundation’s mission is to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults who suffer from these diseases. The Foundation works to fulfill its mission by funding research; providing educational resources for patients and their families, medical professionals, and the public; and furnishing supportive services for those afflicted with IBD. For more information visit http://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org, call 888-694-8872, or email [email protected]

About the AGA

The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. www.gastro.org

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