Browsing by Author "Opel, Douglas J."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Achieving an Optimal Childhood Vaccine Policy
    (American Medical Association, 2017-09-01) Opel, Douglas J.; Schwartz, Jason L.; Omer, Saad B.; Silverman, Ross D.; Duchin, Jeff; Kodish, Eric; Diekema, Douglas S.; Marcuse, Edgar K.; Orenstein, Walt; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    Policies to remove parents' ability to opt-out from school immunization requirements on the basis of religious or personal beliefs (ie, nonmedical exemptions) may be a useful strategy to increase immunization rates and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease. However, there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of this strategy and the range of possible outcomes. We advocate for a more deliberative process through which a broad range of outcomes is scrutinized and the balance of values underlying the policy decision to eliminate nonmedical exemptions is clearly articulated. We identify 3 outcomes that require particular consideration before policies to eliminate nonmedical exemptions are implemented widely and outline a process for making the values underlying such policies more explicit.
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    Potential Unintended Consequences Of Recent Shared Decision Making Policy Initiatives
    (Project HOPE, 2019-11) Blumenthal-Barby, Jennifer; Opel, Douglas J.; Dickert, Neal W.; Kramer, Daniel B.; Tucker Edmonds, Brownsyne; Ladin, Keren; Peek, Monica E.; Peppercorn, Jeff; Tilburt, Jon; Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
    Shared decision making (SDM)-when clinicians and patients make medical decisions together-is moving swiftly from an ethical ideal toward widespread clinical implementation affecting millions of patients through recent policy initiatives. We argue that policy initiatives to promote SDM implementation in clinical practice carry the risk of several unintended negative consequences if limitations in defining and measuring SDM are not addressed. We urge policy makers to include prespecified definitions of desired outcomes, offer guidance on the tools used to measure SDM in the multitude of contexts in which it occurs, evaluate the impact of SDM policy initiatives over time, review that impact at regular intervals, and revise SDM measurement tools as needed.
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    Vaccination over Parental Objection — Should Adolescents Be Allowed to Consent to Receiving Vaccines?
    (Massachusetts Medical Society, 2019-07) Silverman, Ross D.; Opel, Douglas J.; Omer, Saad B.; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health