Close-up of elderly person's wrinkled hands resting on their lap, wearing checked clothing.
Close-up of elderly person's wrinkled hands resting on their lap, wearing checked clothing.

Making shared decision-making accessible to everyone

SDM Navigator was established to advance shared decision-making and support more person-centred, equitable healthcare — in any clinical setting, for any significant medical conversation.

Why we exist

Healthcare decisions are shaped by many factors, including health literacy, culture, language, frailty, lived experience, family involvement and access to care. Recognising and addressing these factors is essential to ensuring people can meaningfully participate in decisions about their health.

SDM Navigator brings together practical resources, education, implementation tools and opportunities for collaboration to support shared decision-making in everyday practice.

Healthcare decisions should not be made alone

“The best decisions are made when patients, carers and clinicians work together — combining clinical evidence with individual goals, values and preferences.”

The ALL BRAN framework

A structured approach to the SDM conversation

The ALL BRAN framework was developed to support practical shared decision-making conversations. It adapts the BRAN questions — originally promoted through the Choosing Wisely movement — by incorporating Ask, Listen and Learn before discussing Benefits, Risks, Alternatives and Natural progression.

A large orange outline of the letter 'A' with the word 'ASK' written below in white, placed on a white background with an orange horizontal bar at the bottom.
Text on orange background reads 'LISTEN' with white uppercase letters at the bottom.
A promotional poster with a brown background, featuring large white text that reads 'LEARN'.
Close-up of a sign with large orange and white text reading 'NATURAL' on a white background.
Part of a poster with a large orange letter 'B' on a white background, and the words 'BENEFITS' in white letters on an orange band at the bottom.
A book cover titled 'Risk' with an orange background and white text, featuring a large stylized letter 'R' in brown.
An orange rectangle with the word 'ASK' in white, large, bold letters centered at the bottom.

If you are a patient or carer…

We encourage you to use the BRAN questions – Benefits, Risks, Alternatives and Natural progression – to guide conversations with your healthcare team.

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Meet the Founder

Dr Rajni Lal

Geriatrician, Perioperative Physician & Founder, SDM Navigator

Dr Rajni Lal is a Geriatrician and Perioperative Physician with a focus on shared decision-making, frailty, health literacy and health equity, based at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals, Western Sydney.

Her work focuses on supporting people facing complex healthcare decisions and improving how healthcare systems engage patients, carers and families. Through clinical practice, research, education and quality improvement, she works to advance person-centred approaches that enable people to better understand their options and participate meaningfully in healthcare decisions.

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Whether you are interested in implementing shared decision-making in your service, collaborating on research, sharing resources or connecting with others working in this field — we welcome the opportunity.

SDM Navigator is open to partnerships with clinicians, researchers, consumer groups, health services and educators who share a commitment to person-centred, equitable care.

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