What can Osteoporosis&Me do for me?

The goal of Osteoporosis&Me is to help you think about what matters most to you when discussing treatment options with your doctor. After you answer the questions in the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser, you will instantly receive your Personalized Report. This report will be unique to you, and will describe what factors you find most important when considering among different treatment options. You can print out the report and bring it with you to your next clinic visit, or you can send it in an email to your doctor or to anyone else. The report will help your doctor understand what is most important to you in a treatment. This can spark a more informed discussion between you and your doctor so that you can decide what treatment option best fits your needs and lifestyle. Your doctor will use this information and your medical history to help you make the most informed decision.

What is the purpose of the “Learn More” section?

Patients visiting Osteoporosis&Me will have different levels of understanding of osteoporosis treatment. The “Learn More” section is designed to go over important terms and concepts related to treatment. Please take the time to review the material so that you can get the most out of the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser. This will help the computer create a Personalized Report that more accurately reflects your values and preferences. You will also see that the headings of each page of the “Learn More” section will appear on the sidebar so that you can go back to a previous page if you want to look at the information again.

What is the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser and how will it help me?

The Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser will help you figure out what is most important to you when considering the different treatment options. Treatment Chooser will show you different medicine profiles side by side. As you go through the questions, the computer will start to learn more about what matters most to you.

After you finish the questions, you will receive your Osteoporosis&Me Personalized Report. It will show what factors are most important to you—for example, it may show that the way you receive the medicine is the most important factor for you in the decision-making process.

You can also choose to share the report with others. You can print out the report and bring it with you to your next clinic visit, or you can send it in an email to your doctor or to anyone else. The report will help your doctor understand what is most important to you when considering medicines to strengthen your bones. This can spark a more informed discussion between you and your doctor so that you can decide what treatment option best fits your needs and lifestyle.

How was Osteoporosis&Me developed?

The Osteoporosis&Me tool was created by patients, patient advocates, doctors, and scientists at the Global Healthy Living Foundation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was created to help you think about what matters most to you when discussing treatment options with your doctor. The tool was sponsored by Amgen, however, the content was developed independently by Global Healthy Living Foundation and its partners.

Can I skip the “Learn More” section?

Yes, you can skip any page in the “Learn More” section. However, even if the material is familiar to you, we recommend that you take the time to read each page. You may learn something new, and it will help you get the most out of Treatment Chooser.

How long will it take me to go through the Osteoporosis&Me website?

Different people take different amounts of time to go through the Osteoporosis&Me website. The amount of time depends on your prior knowledge of treatments and the number of questions that the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser creates for you. Most patients will complete the “Learn More” section and the Treatment Chooser in a total of 12 to 25 minutes. Please try not to rush through the process. The more accurate your responses are, the more helpful the Personalized Report will be to you.

Does everyone answer the same Treatment Chooser questions that I answer?

No. Treatment Chooser is “smart” because it listens to your responses and creates new questions that make sense for your situation. Therefore, Treatment Chooser will present each person with a unique set of questions.

What will happen if I can’t answer a question while using the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser?

You may find that some questions in Treatment Chooser are difficult to answer. They are designed to make you think hard about the pros and cons of the different treatment options. Please try to answer the questions to the best of your ability, even if none of the options seem like ideal choices.

What if I made a mistake answering a question while using Treatment Chooser?

If you want to change an answer on a previous screen, you can go back to the question by clicking on the back arrow button toward the bottom of the page. You can go all the way back to the beginning of the Treatment Chooser to change your answers by continually clicking on the back arrow button.

Please note that once you complete all the questions and receive your Personalized Report, you will not be able to change your answers.

What happens if I can’t finish going through all the questions in the Treatment Chooser?

Unfortunately, you cannot save your progress and come back to finish later. However, most people can answer all the questions in one sitting.

How do I interpret the Personalized Report?

Your Osteoporosis&Me Personalized Report shows what was most important to you when considering among different treatment options. It includes your “importance scores” for the 6 medication characteristics that were presented in the Osteroporosis&Me Treatment Chooser. The higher the score, the more important the characteristic was to you. The importance scores were calculated by the computer based on your answers to the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser.

For example, a person may receive a report that shows the most important factor was the effectiveness to prevent hip fractures, with an importance score of 40%. This means that 40% of the person’s decision-making is related to the chances of preventing a hip fracture. The report may also show that the way the medicine is given (importance score of 25%) and risk of serious side effects (importance score of 20%) were also important factors. Some factors, such as the risk of non-serious side effects, may not be as importance to you and will be rated lower.

What is an example of how I could use the Personalized Report?

When you have your next clinic visit, you can share your Personalized Report with your doctor so that he or she can understand what is most important to you when considering osteoporosis medicines. During the visit, you and your doctor may then focus the conversation around these factors. This will help you both decide on the treatment option that best fits your needs and lifestyle.

Will the Personalized Report tell me which specific medicine is right for me?

No. The decision of which medicine to use is ultimately up to you and your doctor. Treatment Chooser is not designed to pick out a medicine for you. Instead, it is designed to collect important information that can help you and your doctor make the most informed decision.

How do I share the Personalized Report with my doctor (or someone else)?

When you get to the end of the Osteoporosis&Me Treatment Chooser, you will see your Personalized Report on the screen. Here, you will have the option to email yourself a copy of the report. After you receive the report in your email inbox, you can then print it out and bring it with you to the doctor, or you can send it in an email to your doctor.

How can I access the Personalized Report later?

When you get to the end of the Treatment Chooser, you will see your Personalized Report on the screen. Here, you will have the option to email yourself a copy of the report. After you receive the report in your email inbox, you can then save it to your computer as a PDF file.

Where are my answers going and how are they protected from others to see?

Osteoporosis&Me is a highly secure system. Your responses will be stored in a HIPAA-compliant database serviced by Amazon Web Services, and it meets all standard criteria for security. But importantly, please also note that Osteoporosis&Me does not collect any personal health information (e.g., name, address, Social Security number, etc.).

Are my answers confidential? Who will be able to see them?

Absolutely. Your answers are held in strict confidence. The only people who will be able to see your results are those with whom you choose to share your Osteoporosis&Me Personalized Report.