The approach to managing risk factors usually requires partnerships among the healthcare team, the patient, their family, and their community. The goal of this partnership is to assure an effective exchange of information, sharing of concerns, and an improved understanding of treatments, with the aim of improving quality of life and health outcomes. The American Academy of Family Physicians defines patient education as the process of influencing patient behavior through the provision of information and counseling that is designed to produce changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to maintain or improve health. 469 The Joint Commission mandates patient education as a principal guid- ing policy to improve health outcomes. Effective patient education and counseling are based on a collaborative ap- proach that acknowledges individual patient needs through an understanding of cognitive, behavioral, and sociodemo- graphic factors. Patients actively involved in care decisions are more likely to follow a treatment plan and engage in behaviors that can improve their health. Fihn et al Stable Ischemic Heart Disease: Full Text e393 When educating patients, it is important to communicate an understanding of a specific disease process, the need for laboratory testing, medication management and adherence, reporting of efficacy and side effects, and behavioral lifestyle change.8 Unfortunately, the type, intensity, frequency, and duration of educational programs are not well established for individual risk factors. For example, the Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange algorithm for smoking cessation often is used, although supporting data from RCTs are lacking.470 In addition, who should deliver education programs and how to evaluate efficacy are not well studied. In smoking cessation, the most effective intervention continues to be a physician s recommendation for the patient to quit. 