Choosing Wisely Canada
 Dr. Wendy Levinson at launch of Choosing Wisely Canada
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Dr. Danielle Martin's Three Ideas To Improve Canadian Healthcare
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Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) is a Canadian-based health education campaign launched on April 2, 2014 under the leadership of Dr. Wendy Levinson, in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association, and based at the University of Toronto. The campaign aims to help physicians and patients engage in conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures, and to assist physicians and patients in making informed and effective choices to ensure high quality care.
The campaign is based on the notion that unnecessary tests, treatments, and procedures often do more harm than good, resulting in poor clinical outcomes and significant waste in the Canadian healthcare system. These unnecessary tests and procedures take away from care by potentially exposing patients to harm, leading to more testing to investigate false positive tests, and contributing to unnecessary anxiety and avoidable costs for patients.Choosing Wisely Canada aims to encourage and empower physicians to assimilate, evaluate, and implement the ever-increasing amount of evidence on current best practice. The campaign also supports the equally important role of patient education and the need to dispel the false notion that “more care is better care”.
Central to the campaign are lists of "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question" developed by more than forty-five Canadian specialty societies. These lists are intended to encourage physicians to adopt a "think twice" attitude to avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful tests and procedures, and to foster discussions between patients and physicians about inappropriate care. The campaign also uses patient-friendly education materials to complement these lists, as well as teaches medical trainees about resource stewardship. As of June 2, 2015, 151 physician recommendations and 26 lay language patient educational materials have been released .
Choosing Wisely Canada leads an international community, made up of nations who are implementing similar programs in their respective countries. At present, this community includes representation from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, United States and Wales.
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