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Eisenberg Center Conference Series Explores New Tools for Decisionmaking

Image of surgeons examining a hand-held medical device.The second Eisenberg Center Conference Series, held in September 2009, brought together a group of experts in health communication and decisionmaking from throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe to explore the role of Web-based tools in helping patients and clinicians make medical decisions. The theme of the meeting was "Translating Information Into Action: Improving Quality of Care Through Interactive Media." Experts were commissioned to write white papers on various interactive media, and the papers were presented at the conference. Formal responses and open conversation across attendees followed the presentations.

Topics ranged from handheld devices for point-of-care decisionmaking to Web-based cancer communication and decisionmaking systems.

Paper topics ranged from the use of handheld devices for point-of-care decision support to Web-based cancer communication and decisionmaking systems. Videos of the white paper presentations are now posted on the EHC Program Web site. The white papers themselves are being published in Medical Decision Making in the coming year, with links posted on the EHC Program Web site as well.

The first Eisenberg Center Conference Series was held in 2006. Papers and published articles from this conference, which focused on communicating the benefits and harms of prescription drugs to health-care consumers, are currently available.