Shared decision making (SDM) is central to patient-centered care and is at the crossroads between evidence-based medicine and patient-centered care. In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in SDM in rheumatology and an imperative to use SDM to achieve optimal care.

The use of consensus-building methods following the OMERACT Filter 2.1 methodology, grounded in a patient-oriented approach, led to strong endorsement of a core domain set for SDM interventions in rheumatology trials.

Future research will include the development of a core outcome measurement set to identify instruments to assess these domains in trials of SDM interventions.

The OMERACT SDM WG is classified as a ‘bolton’ group. ‘Bolt-on groups’ describe the additional domains and instruments that are part of a specific intervention, and which are measured in addition to disease-specific core outcome sets. In a clinical trial of SDM interventions, the trial must measure both the core outcome set specific to the concept of SDM and include the disease-specific core outcome set of the clinical trial’s study population. By doing so, we ensure that we measure both intervention-specific and disease-specific outcomes.