InforMED - Patient Decision Aids - helping you make informed healthcare decisions.

My Values

Choosing the right option for you depends on what you find important in a treatment. Some things to think about are:

Risk of serious side effects: All treatment options (aside from no treatment) have risk of minor side effects (e.g. skin irritation). Some have risk of more serious side effects. A more effective treatment may have a higher risk.

Speed of results: Some treatments may show results faster than others.

Length of treatment: Some treatments are prescribed for longer times than others. Long term treatments might be needed to reduce the chance of your psoriasis coming back. There is not yet a permanent cure for psoriasis.

How well treatment works: Some treatments are better than others at clearing up psoriasis. Remember, a more effective treatment may have a higher risk of serious side effects.

Cost: Some treatments cost more than others. Health plans may cover all, some, or none of the treatment costs. For example, lasers are often not covered by health insurance.

Convenience: Some treatments may be easier to use than others. Convenience may be affected if the treatment:

is quick or time consuming to use (e.g. swallowing a pill)
needs to be done by a professional (e.g. topicals applied at home; IV must be given at a clinic)

You may have other important values are not listed here. Think about these in the next question.

What values are most important to you when making your decision? Drag and drop ? each of these values into order:

Most important to consider

Risk of serious side effects
Speed of results
Convenience
Cost
How well treatment works
Length of treatment

Least important to consider

+ Add another value

Example of arm psoriasis.

Add Another Value

Select all that apply.

I am willing to try treatment that involves:

Creams/gels/lotions

Pills

Lasers

Needles

Intravenous Infusion (IV)

Changing my diet

Waiting to see if my psoriasis clears on its own

Keep these values in mind when you visit your doctor.

In the next step, we will compare your values to the treatment options for psoriasis.

Back Continue

Psoriasis Decision Aid

1. Introduction

2. My Options

3. My Skin

4. My Values

5. My Trade-offs

6. My Decision

7. My Resources

My Values

What values are most important to you when making your decision? Drag and drop ? each of these values into order:

Add Another Value

Select all that apply.