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May 15, 2018

Choosing Wisely Campaigns: A Work in Progress

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 2Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 3American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
JAMA. 2018;319(19):1975-1976. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.2202

Choosing Wisely, a campaign to stimulate conversations between physicians and patients about unnecessary tests, treatments, and procedures, began in the United States in 2012. It was designed as a national campaign about overuse. Yet since its launch, the campaign has spread to more than 20 countries worldwide. Choosing Wisely has been hailed by some as a success, evident in its spread internationally and measured through structure and process indicators, such as recommendations developed, societies engaged, and physicians apprised. The conversation has been stimulated, and now delivery systems and clinical practices are beginning to develop interventions that go beyond conversations and recommendations. The success of the campaign in the next 5 years will be measured by the ongoing engagement of physicians in these interventions and, more importantly, associated outcomes. The effectiveness of quality improvement efforts by these delivery systems will determine how influential campaigns are in actually reducing unnecessary tests and treatments—a true measure of benefit.1

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