‘Resolve, To Study Implementation of Shared Decision Making To Improve Quality of Care and Reduce Unnecessary Use of Medical Services’

‘Sec. 1. Implementation of shared decision making. Resolved: That the Maine Quality Forum shall convene an advisory group of stakeholders, including, but not limited to, representatives of MaineCare, the Maine Health Data Organization, the state employee health insurance program, health insurance carriers, hospitals, physicians, health care providers and consumers, to develop a plan to implement a program for shared decision making as a strategy to improve the quality of health care in the State and control the unnecessary use of preference-sensitive health care services. The advisory group shall consider the following issues:

1. The appropriate preference-sensitive health care services for use in a shared decision-making program and an accepted protocol for shared decision making;

2. The availability of approved patient decision aids relating to each health care service and the effectiveness of patient decision aids;

3. The payment method to be used by health insurance carriers and public programs to reimburse for services provided by a shared decision-making program;

4. The appropriate incentives to encourage use of a shared decision-making program by providers and patients;

5. Evidence-based studies that evaluate shared decision making; and

6. Any barriers to implementation of a shared decision-making program; and be it further

Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That the Maine Quality Forum shall submit a preliminary report on the findings and recommendations of the advisory group on or before February 1, 2010 to the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services and the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services. Before February 1, 2011, the Maine Quality Forum shall submit a final report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over insurance and financial services matters. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over insurance and financial services matters may each report out a bill to the First Regular Session of the 125th Legislature based on the final report.’