Choosing Wisely Around the World
The simple premise of the Choosing Wisely® campaign –facilitating conversations between clinicians and patients about appropriate care and overuse – has now spread globally and inspired nearly a dozen countries to develop initiatives of their own based on these ideals.
Choosing Wisely’s influence can now be found in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Wales. While some of these programs are just getting underway, others have already begun to make an impact. Similar to the response to the campaign here in the U.S., these international efforts have also been embraced by clinicians and the public.
- On April 2, 2014 – almost exactly two years after the ABIM Foundation launched Choosing Wisely in the United States – “Choosing Wisely Canada” released 40 recommendations from nine Canadian specialty societies. Led by former ABIM Foundation Trustee Wendy Levinson, MD, the campaign has since grown to more than 100 recommendations and recently announced a new book, Focus on Choosing Wisely Canada, through the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
- Choosing Wisely Japan has produced its first set of five recommendations, and in January 2015, held a joint conference with South Korean representatives to collaborate research efforts aimed at enhancing public health in both countries.
- Most recently, on April 29, Choosing Wisely Australia launched with five specialty societies releasing lists covering 25 topics, such as CT scans for head injuries and imaging for low back pain. In the first of a three-part series on the campaign the Australian Crikey Health Blog interviewed ABIM Foundation Executive Vice President and COO Daniel Wolfson for an article entitled “Q&A: What can we learn from the US Choosing Wisely campaign to cut down unnecessary tests, treatment?”
An article in BMJ authored by Dr. Levinson, et al., entitled “‘Choosing Wisely’: a growing international campaign,” highlighted many of the other activities taking place under the Choosing Wisely banner. Reflecting on the international influence of Choosing Wisely the authors concluded, “There are a burgeoning number of efforts to implement the campaign in clinical settings and to measure the impact. For an effort that only began two years ago, this is encouraging uptake. A key goal of Choosing Wisely is to stimulate a conversation about overuse; it is clearly stimulating this conversation in many countries.”
