Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada issued the following announcement on Sept. 19.

Welcome to our series on the many HIROC partners who make a difference in safe care. Introducing Choosing Wisely Canada.

How Choosing Wisely Canada came to be…

Choosing Wisely Canada launched on April 2, 2014, to help clinicians and patients engage in conversations about the harms of unnecessary tests and treatments. The campaign is part of a global movement that began in the United States in 2012, which now spans 20 countries across five continents.

In the past five years, Choosing Wisely Canada has partnered with over 70 national societies representing different professions and clinical specialties. These societies have developed over 350 recommendations that identify tests and treatments commonly used in each specialty that are not supported by evidence and could expose patients to harm.

Choosing Wisely Canada also partners with a wide range of medical associations, health system as well as patient organizations to help put these recommendations into practice.

The Choosing Wisely mandate…

Choosing Wisely Canada is the national voice for reducing unnecessary tests and treatments in healthcare. One of its important functions is to help clinicians and patients engage in conversations that lead to smart and effective care choices.

On the horizon…

In 2019, Choosing Wisely Canada launched Diving into Overuse in Hospitals, a national campaign that aims to reduce unnecessary tests and treatments in hospital settings. The goal of the campaign is to get hospitals across Canada to join the Choosing Wisely movement by making sustainable and evidence-informed changes within their organization to make it easier for clinicians and patients to reduce unnecessary tests and treatments.

The campaign launched with a Starter Kit that provides practical advice and guidance on implementing Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations into hospital settings. Upon implementation of this Starter Kit, hospitals can become designated “Choosing Wisely Canada Hospitals” at either Levels 1, 2 or 3. Reducing overuse has many benefits, including avoiding potential harm to patients and freeing up precious hospital resources for more important uses. To date, hospitals across Canada are receiving designations and demonstrating their commitment to reducing unnecessary tests and treatments.

Why partnerships are critical…

Tackling overuse requires clinician leadership as well as a sustained commitment from many healthcare stakeholders. Choosing Wisely Canada’s significant impact to date is in large part to all the committed campaign partners including patients, clinicians, and healthcare organizations who have stepped up to take leadership on overuse. Building on this momentum, Choosing Wisely Canada is excited to deepen its efforts on reducing unnecessary tests and treatments and continue improvements to the quality and safety of patient care.

Original source: https://www.hiroc.com/news/power-partnership-choosing-wisely-canada