title: 'Choosing Wisely': a growing international campaign.
abstract: Much attention has been paid to the inappropriate underuse of tests and treatments but until recently little attention has focused on the overuse that does not add value for patients and may even cause harm. Choosing Wisely is a campaign to engage physicians and patients in conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures. The campaign began in the United States in 2012, in Canada in 2014 and now many countries around the world are adapting the campaign and implementing it. This article describes the present status of Choosing Wisely programs in 12 countries. It articulates key elements, a set of five principles, and describes the challenges countries face in the early phases of Choosing Wisely. These countries plan to continue collaboration including developing metrics to measure overuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Levinson
authors.affiliation: Dutch Association of Medical Specialists, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kallewaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R Sacha
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.affiliation: ABIM Foundation, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolfson
authors.affiliation: Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shortt
authors.affiliation: VA Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and Department of Internal Medicine and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Eve A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Healthcare quality improvement; Patient safety; Quality improvement