A Thousand Days of Choosing Wisely

The Choosing Wisely® campaign began in earnest on April 4, 2012 – almost three years exactly from today – when nine medical specialty societies announced the first “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question” lists.

The response was immediate and overwhelming, with media coverage on the nightly news of ABC, NBC and CBS. Hundreds of articles ran over the next few days, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press. Conversations about the campaign on social media resulted in hundreds of tweets and tens of thousands of visits to www.choosingwisely.org.

Clearly, Choosing Wisely had struck a chord.

But that day was just the beginning of what would become a larger movement – not just in the U.S., but now internationally – to engage clinicians and patients in conversations aimed at reducing overused or unnecessary tests and treatments.

As we look back on three years of Choosing Wisely, we are proud to share some notable results of our collective efforts:

• 70 health care specialty society partners—and growing
• Nearly 400 recommendations of overused or unnecessary tests, treatments or procedures
• Nearly 100 patient-friendly brochures from Consumer Reports and specialty societies to ensure patients have the information they need and know the right questions to ask
• 274 journal articles published
• 23 grantees worked for nearly two years to advance Choosing Wisely in their communities and within their specialties, resulting in new smartphone apps, initiatives to reduce antibiotic overuse and communications skills training
• International adoption by 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy and New Zealand
• Implementation by health systems across the country, including Cedars-Sinai, Crystal Run Healthcare and Intermountain Healthcare
• Nearly two and a half million visits to www.choosingwisely.org
• Nearly 14,000 U.S. media mentions—and counting

While these accomplishments are worthy of celebrating, there is still much work to be done and the mission of Choosing Wisely continues. A new learning community is exploring innovations and ideas to advance stewardship competencies and high value care in medical education and training, and later this year the ABIM Foundation will announce a new cohort of grantees, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that will work to reduce overuse in their communities.