Society for Medical Decision Making

The SMDM Annual Meeting will bring together high-quality oral and poster presentations, short courses, symposia presentations, and workshops from all disciplines involved in the study of decision making in health and medicine, including evidence-based medicine and public health, patient & stakeholder preferences and engagement, psychology, cognition science, shared decision making, decision modeling, outcomes research, epidemiology, health economics, health care management, policy research, health technology assessment, health informatics, health ethics and law, global health and others. 

Theme and Focus: Navigating decision-making in the face of uncertainty is a critical challenge in medicine, public health, and policy. The 2026 SMDM Annual Meeting in Oslo seeks to explore the complexities of making informed choices when evidence may be incomplete, the future unpredictable, and values may differ. We invite submissions that align with the theme, "Medical Decision Making in Uncertain Times". We welcome abstracts and symposia that cover all areas of medical decision making, with a particular interest in topics such as patient and public engagement, public health initiatives at the municipal level, women’s health and gender perspectives in research, and the role of artificial intelligence in health research or data management. Additional areas of focus include environmental considerations in economic evaluations and tackling misinformation in health communication. We also encourage submissions related to health technology assessment (HTA) capacity building, the use of electronic medical records, and other innovative frontiers in decision science.

All decisions regarding scientific content and speaker selection are made by the SMDM Oslo Meeting Planning Committee.

Note:

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• You can also confirm your submission by logging into the submission portal and selecting the respective submission area. Submissions will show up here.

48th Annual Meeting - Call for Abstracts 

Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 11:59pm PST

Submitted abstracts will be considered for either an oral presentation or a poster presentation.

Abstracts are submitted under one of the five SMDM Scientific Areas of Interest:

1. Decision Psychology and Shared Decision Making; 

2. Applied Health Economics; 

3. Health Services, Outcomes, and Policy Research; 

4. Quantitative Methods and Theoretical Developments; and 

5. Patient and Stakeholder Preferences and Engagement. 

Oral Abstracts are organized around common themes and presented from a podium in 15-minute blocks, including audience Q&A. The Annual Meeting typically features 80 – 90 oral presentations in no more than 4 concurrent sessions of up to 6 abstracts per session.

Poster Abstracts are presented in sessions of 50 – 70 posters each, with presenters assigned to specific sessions where they will be available to discuss their work. This poster format allows the author to delve into and discuss the specifics of an abstract in one-on-one and small group conversations with other meeting attendees. The Annual Meeting typically offers 200 – 240 poster abstracts.

The Lee B. Lusted Student Prizes are awarded for outstanding student posters at the Annual Meeting. The competition is named after Dr. Lee B. Lusted, a leader in advancing medical decision making as a field, founding member of the Society in 1979, and the first editor of the Journal of Medical Decision Making. Two awards are given in each of the five SMDM Scientific Areas of Interest. To be eligible for the Lusted Student Prize Competition, the first author on the abstract must be enrolled in a degree granting program, a resident/fellow in a clinical training program, or postdoctoral research fellow at the time of abstract submission.

Beginning in 2026, SMDM is asking every person who submits an abstract to assist with peer review. See below for more information!

Be sure to reference the abstract guidelines before submitting.

2026 Abstract Submission Guidelines

2026 Abstract Submission Portal

48th Annual Meeting - Call for Abstract Reviewers 

Applications will be accepted through Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 11:59pm PST

Not submitting an abstract, but would like to participate as a peer reviewer? Please click the link below if you would be willing to serve as a reviewer! 

Volunteer to be a peer reviewer

New this year, all abstract submitters will be asked to participate as a peer reviewer. Your contributions as an abstract reviewer are invaluable to the Society and instrumental in helping us develop an exciting and educational program. Abstract submitters do not need to separately sign-up as a reviewer.

All reviewers will receive approximately 15-20 abstracts to review. Review and access instructions will be shared around 21 January 2026, and reviews will be due by 11:59pm ET on 11 February 2026. If you submit an abstract but are unable to participate as an abstract reviewer during this time, please email info@smdm.org to let us know. 

SMDM is offering a complimentary Abstract Review Tutorial, hosted by Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Decision Making and MDM P&P. The webinar will be on 10 December 2025. You can find more information and register for the webinar on our events page.

48th Annual Meeting - Call for Symposia 

Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 11:59pm PST

Symposia submissions can directly address the 2026 Annual Meeting theme, “Medical Decision Making in Uncertain Times”, but we are generally looking for thought-provoking symposia with widespread appeal to SMDM members, including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and patients. The 2026 Annual Meeting will continue the discussions initiated at the 2025 meeting in Ann Arbor by spotlighting clinician crosstalk sessions. These sessions aim to highlight expert insights and practical applications in medical decision-making that can directly inform clinical practice. We are issuing a special call for clinician crosstalk symposia, encouraging sessions designed to attract clinicians and demonstrate how medical decision making research is relevant to their daily practice. Additionally, these sessions will create valuable opportunities for researchers to gain insights into clinicians' perspectives on their work.

Symposia proposals will be evaluated on content, relationship to theme, and geographic, demographic, and stakeholder diversity in the speakers. Non-traditional formats are welcome, including fireside chats, ignite/lightning talks, debates, workshops etc.

All submitted symposia proposals will be reviewed by the Annual Meeting Co-Chairs. The chairs may make requests for additional information or provide suggested revisions in advance of acceptance decisions.  

SMDM encourages collaboration from novel groups to submit proposals in diverse topics/domains as this encourages networking and relationship building amongst SMDM meeting attendees.

2026 Symposia Submission Guidelines

2026 Symposia Submission Portal

48th Annual Meeting - Call for Short Courses 

Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 11:59pm PST

Short Course Submissions should address at least one of the SMDM abstract topic areas above. Short Courses are half-day, workshop-style presentations that provide a beginner, intermediate, or expert level overview of an MDM specific topic. Courses can be applicable for more than one topic area.

All submitted short course proposals will be reviewed by the Annual Meeting Short Course Co-Chairs. The chairs may make requests for additional information or provide suggested revisions in advance of acceptance decisions.

2026 Short Course Submission Guidelines

2026 Short Course Submission Portal