In a post for Croakey, The Naked Doctor, Justin Coleman, previews the Choosing Wisely campaign, due to launch in Australia in April. This campaign focuses on cutting down the numbers of unnecessary medical tests and treatment and has been successful in the USA and Canada in reducing non-evidenced based interventions. While a number of medical colleges have been involved in developing the Choosing Wisely campaign in Australia, this post discusses the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ input which focuses on primary health care and will identify five treatments routinely provided in general practice which are not supported by evidence.
This post is the first in a series that Croakey will be running on Choosing Wisely which, as the Naked Doctor suggests, may make some controversial and confronting recommendations about current medical practices but which has the potential to both improve consumer outcomes and save resources. He writes:
The Naked Doctor has always prided himself on choosing wisely – except perhaps his clothing choice in inclement weather – so it comes as no surprise that he has embraced Australia’s very own Choosing Wisely campaign, as others might embrace their warm jackets in winter.
Read the full post
Stewardship toolkit for clinical educators
The Health Resource Stewardship for Clinical educators contains educational material about the Choosing Wisely initiative for use in universities, hospitals and health professional colleges
5 Questions
5 questions to ask your doctor or other healthcare provider to make sure you end up with the right amount of care.