Beyond Awareness: Modeling Shared Decision-Making in Patient Communications

When Coretta learned she had stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer, she was blindsided. She didn’t fit the profile. She didn’t see it coming. And she didn’t know what to do next. It’s a common experience in serious diagnoses—patients feel not just fear but paralysis. The problem? Coretta had never faced a challenge like this before. Would she have what it takes to get through it? Was there going to be anyone who could help guide her?

It’s for patients like herself that Coretta decided to participate in a novel format of patient storytelling: shared decision-making videos. These are authentic, dual-perspective narratives—videos where patients and their physicians tell the story together. Not a testimonial. Not a case study. A real story of how they met, how they collaborated, and how they decided what to do next.

Why Modeling Matters

What makes these videos stand out is their intention: This isn’t another testimonial or success story. It’s a guide. And that’s a format we’re now beginning to expand into other categories, including mental health and rare disease, where patients often feel especially isolated or voiceless.

In a healthcare system filled with noise, modeling provides clarity. Done well, it moves beyond slogans like “Be your own advocate” to actually show patients how. That’s especially crucial in areas like oncology or mental health, where stigma, urgency, and emotional load can disrupt communication. Seeing what collaboration looks like can be the spark that helps patients regain a sense of control and start asking the right questions.

Confidence—or self-efficacy—is a known predictor of better health outcomes. But confidence doesn’t emerge from facts alone. It comes from seeing yourself in the story. When you see someone like you work through the system, it reduces fear and empowers action. Shared decision-making stories build this bridge.

Designing for Replicability

These videos work best when they’re accessible at the right moment in a patient’s journey: shortly after diagnosis, when options are being discussed, or when treatment decisions are on the horizon. For that reason, integrating them into brand websites, patient portals and care team conversations will help reaching the right people at the right time.

This isn’t about replacing other forms of patient education. It’s about filling a gap that has long been ignored—the gap between knowing and knowing how. Between information and action. Between being directed and having a guide.

Lessons for Marketers

The key take-aways from our experience are:

1. Don’t just inform—model. Patients need to see what successful engagement looks like.
2. Choose authentic storytellers. Real voices create trust that glossy campaigns can’t.
3. Frame empowerment realistically. Show patients how to engage, not just that they should.

Healthcare marketing is evolving. So are patient expectations. In a landscape where trust is earned one interaction at a time, content that merely informs will no longer be enough. Content must connect, guide, and equip. Modeling shared decision-making is not a trend. It’s a necessary evolution—one that meets patients where they are and gives people like Coretta a clearer path forward.