Decision Aids Upper and Lower Extremity

Patients visiting an orthopeadic surgeon in one of our 4 affiliated offices in a large urban area in the United States are invited to participate over a 4 month period. All English-speaking patients, between 18 and 89 years old, visiting an orthopeadic surgeon with a new problem, for which either invasive or non-invasive treatment is possible and a DA is available are asked to participate in this study. Exclusion criteria are non-English speakers or a clear preference for a treatment option by surgeon or patient. Patients will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group in a 1:1 ratio using an Excel random number generator. Patients in the intervention group go over the DA during the visit, once the surgeon has identified the diagnosis. After the diagnosis is set, the surgeon steps out of the visit and steps back in when the patients has reviewed the DA. The surgeon and the patient go over the treatment options and a decision will be made. After the visit, all patients, both in the intervention and control group, are asked to fill out a survey. Two weeks after enrollment a research assistant calls all patients for a follow up questionnaire.