Patient Decision Aids (PDAs) are increasingly adopted but often fall short in real-world implementation despite rigorous testing. This presentation from Intellus Worldwide Institute 2025 explores what late-stage testing misses in PDA design and offers actionable solutions for creating more effective tools. The session covers advanced research techniques, usability best practices, real-world case studies, and strategies for improving PDA adoption across diverse patient populations.

Originally published on LinkedIn on July 9, 2025

When families receive an autism diagnosis, they’re often overwhelmed by conflicting treatment advice and endless intervention options. Last month, at the Society for Medical Decision Making Conference in Ann Arbor, powerful stories reminded us why supporting patients through difficult healthcare choices matters so much. Healthcare decision-making challenges exist across many conditions, but autism treatment decisions represent perhaps one of the most emotionally charged areas, where families face not only complex choices but also widespread misinformation.

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

As defined by the Autism Society, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), commonly referred to as autism, is “a complex, lifelong developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation.” The Autism Society also notes that “the autism experience is different for everyone. It is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is often referred to as a ‘spectrum condition’ that affects people differently and to varying degrees.”

This spectrum nature of autism creates unique challenges for families of children on the autism spectrum seeking treatment guidance. What works for one autistic child may not work for another, making standardized treatment protocols difficult to establish and forcing families into a complex decision-making process often without adequate support.

The Information Flood After Diagnosis

Within hours of receiving the diagnosis, families find themselves flooded with treatment options, conflicting advice, and promises of “cures” from every direction. Behavioral therapies, speech therapy, occupational therapy, dietary interventions, medications—the list seems endless. Meanwhile, well-meaning relatives share articles about vaccine links, and online forums promote everything from specialized diets to dangerous “treatments” like bleach enemas.

As Dr. Alycia Halladay from the Autism Science Foundation recently stated on The New Yorker Radio Hour, “You will do anything to help your child, so if it means a bleach enema and you think that’s going to help them, you’ll do it. It’s not because these people don’t love their children. It’s because they’re desperate.”

This desperation, combined with contradictory information, creates the perfect storm for poor decision-making in autism care.

What Our Research Shows

Families in the autism community face an overwhelming array of choices with limited guidance on how to prioritize them. Unlike other medical conditions where treatment pathways are more standardized, autism interventions span multiple domains: behavioral, educational, medical, and complementary approaches.

Parents must navigate questions like: Should we start with Applied Behavior Analysis or try speech therapy first? Is this medication worth the potential side effects? How do we balance intensive interventions with family life?

Based on studies Bazis Americas has conducted, families struggle with several key challenges:

Treatment Selection Confusion: Parents report feeling overwhelmed by intervention options, from evidence-based therapies to unproven treatments marketed with compelling testimonials. As one parent in our ASD research shared: “Choosing the right medication for my child was very challenging. We had a lot of options, but understanding the differences between them was tough. It felt like we were constantly second-guessing our choices.”

Resource Allocation Stress: With limited time, energy, and financial resources, deciding which interventions to pursue becomes a source of constant anxiety and second-guessing. Many families report spending thousands of dollars on treatments without clear guidance on which approaches are most likely to benefit their specific child.

Conflicting Professional Opinions: Different specialists often recommend different approaches, leaving families to arbitrate between competing expert viewpoints without clear guidance. Another participant noted: “Our psychiatrist was incredible… he laid out the different side effects and he explained thoroughly why he prescribed one thing instead of another. But I heard so many horror stories. I had never heard of other people having such a smooth experience.”

Misinformation Vulnerability: In their desperation to help their children, families can fall prey to false claims and dangerous treatments that exploit their hope and determination.

Long-term Planning Challenges: Unlike acute medical conditions, autism requires long-term treatment planning that must evolve as children diagnosed with ASD grow and develop. Families struggle with decisions about educational placements, transition planning for adulthood, and preparing for lifelong support needs for individuals with autism.

How Decision Aids Could Help

This is precisely where autism-specific decision aids could change family experiences. Rather than leaving parents to navigate these complex decisions alone, structured tools could help families identify what matters most to them and align treatment choices with their values and circumstances.

An effective autism decision aid might help families prioritize goals based on their child’s specific needs, understand the evidence base for different interventions, explore trade-offs between intensive therapies and family quality of life, and identify red flags for unproven treatments.

Using validated research methodologies like conjoint analysis — techniques Bazis Americas has successfully applied in other healthcare decision aids — families could work through structured scenarios that help clarify their priorities and preferences. For example, parents might weigh factors such as communication skill development, behavioral intervention approaches, sensory support needs, and educational placement options.

The decision aid could also provide personalized risk assessments, helping families understand which interventions are most likely to benefit their specific child based on age, severity of symptoms, and co-occurring conditions. 

At Bazis Americas, we’ve seen how decision aids create more confident, informed patients across various conditions. In autism care, these tools could provide families with the evidence-based framework they desperately need while respecting their unique circumstances and values.

Such tools would need to address both immediate treatment decisions and long-term planning considerations. They should help families understand realistic expectations for different interventions, plan for transitions between developmental stages, and prepare for adult independence or supported living arrangements.

The decision aid could also facilitate better communication between families and healthcare providers by helping parents articulate their priorities and concerns more clearly. 

Thus, the development of autism-specific decision aids represents an opportunity to improve how families navigate the complex landscape of autism treatment options, moving from confusion and desperation toward informed, values-based decision-making.

The Society for Medical Decision Making’s 47th Annual Conference concluded last week at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Healthcare professionals and researchers gathered together for sessions of presentations, short courses, discussions and debates related to the theme “Principled Practice: Integrating Ethics into Medical Decision Making”. Tatiana Barakshina shared impactful moments and key takeaways from the conference below.  

Dr. Victoria Shaeffer, University of Missouri, shared a heartbreaking story of her Father’s battle with throat cancer, and her ways to put all her knowledge and skills in medical decision making to help her family make their own choices at every stage of treatment – surgery, chemo and radiation, and ultimately palliative care. Tatiana met Victoria earlier that day at a Decision Psychology Special Interest Group, and had no idea what a brave and emotionally impossible step she was about to make. She addressed a vast group of medical researchers and shared a personal experience that highlights the many issues and pressures even the most “prepared” patients face today, while making ➡️ or being forced, nudged or pressured to make ⬅️ life altering medical choices.

The Keynote address by Dr. Amaka Eneanya was equally thought-provoking and powerful. Now a Chief Transformational Officer at Emory, Dr. Eneanya. Dr. Eneanya is known for her work on removing race from eGFR equations. The effort took several years and led to national and international changes in how kidney disease is diagnosed and managed. In her keynote, she walked us through the full arc:

•  Identifying the issue (race-based cut-off values that affected transplant eligibility

•  Conducting research to challenge outdated assumptions

•  Pushing the medical establishment and policymakers to update national guidelines.

She was brutally honest with the audience: even most rigorous evidence-based research is not enough. Change requires strategy. Social strategy! She shared how she used Twitter and other platforms to get her work out, and even showed a clip from Grey’s Anatomy, where Shonda Rhimes wove the research into the storyline (wild applause). Her keynote was incredibly impactful and her sincerity was noticeable. 

These two women were deeply moving and powerful on the stage. Their vulnerability while sharing personal stories, was a reminder of why our work as researchers is needed. Throughout the conference, there was an emphasis on immediate practice for shared decision making and at Bazis Americas we are passionate about doing our part to create change and bring awareness to improve medical decision making. 

The SMDM 47th Annual Conference was a success and we are looking forward to the 48th Annual Conference in 2026! It will take place June 28th-July 1st, 2026 in Oslo, Norway. We hope to see you there!

When Treatment has a life-changing crossroads

Imagine living with Ulcerative Colitis for years, managing your condition with medications that once gave you hope. Then your doctor suggests it might be time to consider surgery. The medications aren’t controlling your symptoms like they used to, or perhaps the side effects are becoming unbearable. Suddenly, you’re facing a decision that could reshape your entire life.

This isn’t simply about choosing between two medical options—it’s about weighing the quality of life against personal values, considering family dynamics, work impacts, and personal concerns about body image and relationships. For many patients, this decision gets delayed or avoided altogether, not because they’re indecisive, but because they lack the tools to properly evaluate their options.

The Sheffield Breakthrough: Listening to Patients First

Professor Alan Lobo and his research team at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals recognized this exact challenge. Rather than creating another generic patient brochure filled with medical jargon, the Sheffield team took a different approach. They started by asking the people who matter most: patients themselves.

Through careful research, they discovered what information patients actually wanted when facing these life-changing decisions.

For medical treatment, patients needed honest answers about:

• Long-term benefits and risks of continuing medications
• The reality of ongoing hospital visits and their impact on daily life
• Effects on their ability to have children
• Whether they’d need steroid treatment
• How treatment would affect their personal relationships

For surgery, the answers to these concerns were equally crucial:

• What living with a stoma actually entails day-to-day
• How surgery might disrupt their work and family life
• Effects on intimate relationships and reproductive health
• The risks and benefits of different surgical options

Beyond Information: Creating Space for What Matters Most

What makes the Sheffield decision aid particularly powerful isn’t just the information it provides—it’s how it acknowledges that medical decisions are deeply personal. The tool includes dedicated space for patients to write down their own thoughts and feelings, recognizing that the “right” choice varies dramatically from person to person.

One patient might prioritize avoiding surgery at all costs, willing to accept the ongoing burden of medications. Another might feel ready to pursue surgery if it means potentially reclaiming control over their life. Neither choice is inherently better—but both require honest conversation about personal values and life goals.

The team’s research, supported by Crohn’s & Colitis UK, resulted in an illustrated booklet that helps patients identify what truly matters to them before making this significant decision. You can learn more about their comprehensive approach on the Crohn’s & Colitis UK research page.

A Blueprint for Patient-Centered Care

The Sheffield team partnered with patients and healthcare professionals throughout the development process, testing and refining the decision aid multiple times. This collaborative approach ensured the final tool addressed real concerns rather than what researchers assumed patients needed.

The result goes far beyond a simple informational brochure. It’s a structured conversation starter that helps patients explore their own values while providing evidence-based information about treatment options. Most importantly, it facilitates better discussions between patients and their healthcare teams, ensuring decisions are made together rather than imposed from above.

At Bazis Americas, we see this as exactly the kind of innovation healthcare needs. Decision aids don’t replace medical expertise—they enhance it by creating informed, engaged patients ready to work collaboratively with their healthcare teams.

In our next blog post, we’ll explore how decision aids are being implemented across different medical specialties and examine what makes some more effective than others.

Patient Decision Aids (PDAs) serve as bridges between clinical expertise and patient values by translating complex medical information into understandable formats. Download this report to explore how PDAs help patients and providers to communicate more meaningfully. This report covers PDA effectiveness as of 2025, the evolution of shared decision making, adoption trends, and real-world impact.

Jessica Brooks-Woods, MPM, PHR opened the conference with her session on “Advancing Health Equity in Challenging Times.” She showed an impressive AI Doula tool designed to support women through pregnancy – a great example of making healthcare more accessible through technology. Her no-nonsense approach to navigating policy barriers while maintaining effective health literacy initiatives resonated with attendees.

Bazis Americas contributed an on-demand session titled “Developing Patient Decision Aids: A Systematic Approach to Enhancing Health Literacy and Shared Decision Making,” presented by Anna Shevalova and Tatiana Barakshina. Patient Decision Aids are tools – printed materials or interactive digital resources – that help patients understand their treatment options, the potential benefits and risks of each choice, and how these align with their personal values. Our session focused on how these practical tools can transform complex medical information into formats patients can actually use. The session highlighted how Patient Decision Aids not only improve patient understanding but also support healthcare providers in delivering more personalized care. We discussed the development process, implementation challenges, and measurement of effectiveness – giving attendees a complete roadmap for creating Decision Aids.

In “Advancing Organizational Health Literacy in Public Health,” Dr. Darcie Moeller and Melanie Sampson presented a toolkit that guides organizations through interventions in six areas:

• Leadership & Organizational Transformation
• Health Literate Workforce Development
• Partnership & Collaboration
• Accessibility of Information & Services
• Communication Practices & Standards
• Community Engagement & Outreach

Their ready-to-use framework offers solutions any organization can adapt to improve patient communication. What stood out was how they integrated these principles across different departments and roles.

The “AI in Action” roundtable led by Tracy Mehan and Eskarlethe Juarez sparked honest conversation about AI’s role in healthcare communication. Participants shared what’s working, what isn’t, and where we go from here with these emerging tools.

This three-day virtual conference reinforced the importance of meeting patients where they are with information they can understand and use. As health communications continue to evolve with new technologies and challenges, the focus remains clear: breaking down barriers between medical expertise and patient understanding. At Bazis Americas, we’re proud to be part of this important work.

Welcome to our new series exploring Patient Decision Aids and their transformative potential across healthcare. At Bazis Americas, we’ve developed a deep passion for these tools and their ability to educate patients on their healthcare options. For our first piece, we’re diving into ophthalmology — a field where complex terminology often creates barriers between providers and patients.

When Medical Jargon Creates Confusion

Have you ever stood at an optical counter, prescription in hand, wondering why the numbers on paper don’t match your actual visual experience? You’re hardly alone. The terminology used in Ophthalmology functions like a specialized dialect—it’s intuitive to practitioners but often confusing to those receiving care.

This communication gap isn’t merely inconvenient; it strongly affects treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction. As healthcare evolves toward greater patient autonomy, these communication barriers become increasingly problematic.

The Prescription Challenge: A Patient’s Journey to Clarity

Recently, we encountered a scenario that perfectly captures this gap in communication. A patient who had undergone LASIK for farsightedness correction found themselves struggling with near vision while working on their laptop. Their solution seemed straightforward: outfit their favorite red frames with prescription lenses.

What followed was a month-long journey of frustration. The optical shop insisted on a current prescription, which came back as +2.25. However, the patient’s personal experience with over-the-counter readers suggested +1.25 worked better. Multiple visits ensued, with confusing directives coming from different providers.

The breakthrough came unexpectedly. During a follow-up, the patient mentioned their extensive computer work to a nurse who then explained what should have been communicated from day one:

“Reading glasses are calibrated for close-up tasks about 16 inches away. Computer glasses are entirely different—designed for intermediate distances between 20 and 26 inches.”

This simple explanation made everything clear. The higher prescription targeted traditional reading distance, while the patient primarily needed correction for screen viewing at arm’s length.

Seeing Solutions: How Decision Aids Can Change Patient-Centered Care

This patient’s journey highlights exactly why decision aid tools matter. When clinicians and patients lack shared vocabulary or contextual understanding, even straightforward care becomes needlessly complicated.

Imagine instead if this patient had accessed an interactive decision aid upon their initial post-LASIK consultation. Such a tool might have:

• Asked detailed questions about daily visual requirements and screen usage
• Explained the crucial difference between reading and computer glasses in plain language
• Generated personalized recommendations based on lifestyle needs
• Provided printable guidance for discussions with optical providers
• Offered visual simulations of different prescription strengths

The healthcare journey would have transformed from frustrating to empowering.

Some companies are already taking steps in the right direction. Zenni Optical, for instance, offers an excellent resource that helps patients understand how to read their eye prescriptions, breaking down complex terminology into accessible language. 

Beyond Vision: The Future of Patient-Centered Care

This ophthalmology example represents just one facet of a much larger healthcare communication challenge. Whether selecting diabetes management approaches, weighing cancer treatment options, or making end-of-life care decisions, patients frequently navigate complex choices without adequate tools.

At Bazis Americas, we believe decision aids represent a big step in patient-centered care. They don’t replace clinician expertise—they enhance it by creating informed patients ready to participate meaningfully in their own care decisions.

In our next blog, we’ll explore innovative decision aid implementations across multiple medical areas, examine what makes them effective and discuss how they change patient experiences. Stay tuned as we continue sharing how these tools are reshaping healthcare communication.

This article was originally published on Greenbook.org by Tatiana Barakshina and Anna Shevalova.

Explore key factors in global healthcare provider recruitment, from online vs. traditional methods to cultural nuances, regulations, and regional challenges

Background

Imagine you are planning to conduct a research study with healthcare providers in a region of the world that you do not live in. How does the culture of the region affect the recruitment process and what factors need to be accounted for?

Let’s look at one example – a seemingly straightforward quantitative study with neurologists across Eastern and Central Europe. Launched by Bazis Americas in 2023, the project quickly revealed the unique challenges. What a clear illustration of healthcare market research across diverse regions! There were unexpected variables and delays across both regions that affected the timeline. We encountered sudden delays, lengthy regulatory approval processes, etc.

Recruitment for global research projects vary based on the region and the cultural norms. The health system itself is an important variable. This affects recruitment for Providers, Payers and Patients. Here, we decided to look at each audience – one article at a time.

While healthcare systems have their own nuances in each country, there are commonalities that drive provider recruitment efforts. We found that the three below can make or break the project success:

• Close relationships with local physicians
• A network of partners – two or three per country
• Expertise in regulatory nuances in each country

Recruitment Approach: Online HCP Panel vs Traditional Methods

When conducting international healthcare provider research, we use two methods: online panels and traditional recruitment via phone and email. In practice, hybrid approaches are often necessary—online panels work well in developed markets, while traditional methods are still a default in emerging markets. North and Western Europe have strong panel infrastructure with broad specialty representation, making panel recruitment accessible and efficient.

In contrast, Eastern Europe and countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, lack this infrastructure, relying on traditional recruitment and local connections with physicians. This difference was clear in our study: German fieldwork faced delays due to regulatory approvals, but Eastern Europe posed a bigger challenge. Without robust online panels, recruiting neurologists required extensive personal outreach, stretching timelines from one week to over four.

There are also regions that fall in the middle with moderate or mixed panel coverage. Japan and South Korea have moderate panel coverage that often requires supplementation with traditional methods. Ultimately when recruiting across various countries, we recommend accounting for the need to boost recruitment outside of online panels even if they have good coverage: note both cost and timeline implications!

Translation and Localization

When running a multi-country project, you will have the choice of using a large translation firm or passing translation to local suppliers. When using a central translation agency, always specify the language and the target country. If you have Spain and Mexico in your sample you will need the materials translated to the Spanish used in both countries. An example of this would be the word “Healthcare”. In Spain, “Healthcare” is commonly translated to “Asistencia Sanitaria” while in Mexico it’s referred to as “La Atención Médica”.

While the translations have similarities, the nuances of each dialect are the real opportunities to establish a personal link with your audience. Localization must be factored into both budget and timeline, too, as adapting translations to local dialects adds work. It may also influence the choice between a centralized translation agency or local suppliers.

One approach is centralizing the main translation while requiring local partners to handle localization. Local suppliers can also verify translations before proceeding. You can now use technology for initial contact. Android users can enable a feature that translates WhatsApp messages live into another language.

Technology Infrastructure and Communication Styles

There are many ways to communicate and make connections, but not all countries are fully digital when it comes to healthcare. The style and preference of communication technique can vary for initial contact, regulatory protocols and negotiations throughout the recruitment process.

Many regions like North America, Southeast Asia, and the German speaking countries of Western Europe have requirements for communication through official channels and formal protocols especially for introductions.

Be prepared to tailor communication format to what’s acceptable in each region. It may become a big task, if you are managing more than three countries with different communication styles. In some cultures, communication becomes informal after introductions, while in others, formality remains. Local messenger apps (WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram) may also get you further in establishing quick links with partners.

Regional Regulatory Requirements

As expected each region has certain regulatory requirements and compliance differences that have to be considered for conducting market research with healthcare providers. Western Europe has country specific healthcare advertising laws and requires GDPR compliance.

In Italy, for example, market research discussions must maintain clear separation from promotional activities, and consent forms must explicitly state how the healthcare provider’s opinions will be used while meeting GDPR requirements. Other regions like Japan have specific documentation requirements – such as detailed tracking of interview duration and explicit consent for recording market research discussions.

Knowledge of the regulatory and privacy frameworks is of the utmost importance before starting any research process. For example, in Brazil, conducting market research with public institution physicians requires advance notification to their administrators.

The types of healthcare systems also vary sometimes from country to country in a region. Many have mixed healthcare systems like Latin America – in Mexico, for instance, providers often work in both public institutions (IMSS) and private practices, requiring careful scheduling of market research interviews around their dual commitments.

Local Calendar and Time of Communication

Timezone differences are a factor that must be considered for almost any project even in our local region of North America. When you are in different timezones there can be a pressure or lack of pressure to communicate outside of your standard work hours. This is an important aspect that should be discussed and agreed upon with local partners at the beginning of communication.

In addition to time, the local calendar is another factor that must be considered. There are certain periods when HCP recruitment in specific regions is the most challenging. In China and many countries of South East Asia, Lunar New Year officially lasts between 1 and 7 days. It makes  recruitment practically impossible for 2-3 weeks because many HCPs travel to home provinces and do not respond to recruitment attempts.

Another example is December in Eastern and Western Europe. Our neurologists study recruitment took place in December. While Christmas celebrations are well-known in this season, it is important to account how early the holiday season begins in some Eastern European countries, with religious observances starting weeks before Western European Christmas celebrations.

Confirmed interviews began to fall through as physicians’ schedules filled with holiday commitments and end-of-year responsibilities. Holidays combined with union strikes typical for this time of the year can quickly result in a perfect storm, impacting research feasibility.

Conclusion

As researchers we are always trying to bring awareness of cultural nuances into our work. Every culture has its own values, requirements and preferences when it comes to the healthcare system. When trying to understand physicians’ thoughts on various topics, the country that they live in and the infrastructure of their healthcare system all play a role in their experiences. Then when it comes to recruitment specifically, healthcare providers in different regions have varying engagement patterns and culturally there are norms and hierarchies that influence research in healthcare.

Clients rely on researchers to integrate cultural nuances and advice on the best recruitment approach. Every culture shapes healthcare values, preferences, and system requirements. Physicians’ perspectives are influenced by their country’s healthcare infrastructure. In recruitment, regional engagement patterns, cultural norms, and power hierarchies impact healthcare research.

Our years of experience conducting multi-country projects taught us valuable lessons about regional differences in healthcare market research. From varying recruitment infrastructures to cultural customs and healthcare system challenges, each region presents its own unique set of considerations that need to be carefully factored into project planning and timelines. When planning to move a project with HCPs outside of the US, we recommend taking these elements into account.

*We would like to thank Heaven Russell for her contribution to the writing of this article

The rise of AI is transforming how we work with data, and spreadsheets are no exception. As market researchers and analysts, we can leverage this power to extract deeper insights, improve efficiency, and reduce work time. However, we need to ensure accurate and relevant results, it’s crucial to guide AI tools by carefully defining the scope of analysis within our spreadsheets.

One of the key lessons I learned from working with AIs and spreadsheets is the importance of specificity. AIs can process vast amounts of data, and they will look for related data outside of the spreadsheet if you let them.  AIs need clear instructions on where to focus to produce the most relevant results. For example, when analyzing survey data, we want to direct the AI to specific sheets or columns. Specific instructions like: “Use the uploaded worksheet only and in Sheet Product Description only using row 1 for column headers” and “using the column headers variable 1, variable 2, variable 3“. These instructions limit the AI’s analysis to the precise data set needed, preventing it from getting lost in irrelevant information.

Furthermore, defining the desired output format is essential. For example, your instructions should include items like “in a table format with a totals row” and “add a column for percent of grand total”. By providing these formatting guidelines, you ensure that the AI delivers results that are easy to interpret and use in reports or presentations.

Another important consideration is how to structure the data for AI analysis. By focusing on counting and categorizing data, such as “count the number of each product type” or “create ten categories and put them in a table format with a count for each category“. This type of data organization facilitates AI’s ability to identify patterns and trends.

Lastly, check your results for validity and relevancy. Check for consistency between the AI’s output and the original data sources.  For example: Cross-reference the number of responses in the spreadsheet with the base number of responses the AI returned.

In conclusion, AI offers huge potential for spreadsheet analysis, but effective utilization requires forethought and organization. It is key to provide clear and concise instructions.  By restricting the AI’s focus to specific data ranges, defining clear output formats, structuring data appropriately, and always running validity checks, you can harness the power of AI to gain valuable insights and make more informed decisions.

The 2025 Intellus Worldwide Summit was one to remember! Tatiana Barakshina of our Bazis Americas team shared just a taste of some of the ‘Robust Insights’ from sessions she attended and a summary of the Clear Health Communications Tool Shed training she helped lead.

Gaurav Kapoor and Katie Reed’s session on ‘13 Golden Rules of Launch Messaging Success’ dived into how launch teams can develop the optimal messaging storyflow for their brand. In this session they describe the use of share of preference analysis to know which messages truly resonate with patients with eye-opening behavioural economics explanations to follow along. They presented easy yet effective rules for messaging that were derived from robust meta analysis.

Tom Donnelly, PhD and Hiba Raza’s interactive session ‘MedTech Insights Approaches:

Complexities to Apply More Broadly’ showed us how MedTech research is different from pharma research by exploring study design, methodology and respondents. MedTech research is multifaceted and they taught us how to apply best practices in MedTech to our own research.

A stand-out qualitative session ‘Empathy: the Ultimate Edge in the Age of AI for Driving Rare Disease Advocacy,’ moderated by Kristy Bolan, focused on empathy led moderation techniques, because empathy continues to be our most powerful tool in a digital world. This session highlighted not just techniques, but a different mindset that can lead to truly enhancing patient outcomes.

Last but not least, the Clear Health Communications Workshop led by Tom Donnelly, Tatiana Barakshina, Julie Leonard and Peter Simpson.  In this session we covered

• Why Clear Health Communication (CHC) is essential in improving patients’ health outcomes
• An introduction to the CHC Tool Shed maintained by Tufts Medicine Center for Health Literacy Research & Practice and its validated measurement scales
• Hands-on exploration of key assessment tools
• A test drive of a health literacy editor tool by The Sydney Health Literacy Lab that evaluates communication clarity
• Strategies for advocating and communicating the importance of CHC

Over 50 Intellus Worldwide members got their CHC Tool Shed certification by the end of the workshop. We were excited to see so many members becoming certified to use these tools for optimizing Clear Health Communications!