Choosing Wisely®

Creating a dialogue between physicians and their patients.

Choosing Wisely® is a national health education campaign designed to improve physician-patient relationships through communication while reducing waste in health care. Billions of dollars are spent each year on medical procedures that shouldn't be done, draining health care dollars that could be put to far better use. These unnecessary tests and procedures do not contribute to health, and may actually be harmful.

Created as an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, the Choosing Wisely campaign has worked with more than 60 specialty societies to help identify commonly used tests and procedures that are possible overused. Choosing Wisely® encourages conversations between doctors and patients so patients can make wise treatment decisions that are:

Supported by evidence,
Not duplicative of tests and procedures that have already been done,
Free from harm, and
Truly necessary.

Recognizing that patients need better information in order to have these conversations with their doctors, Consumer Reports has worked with Choosing Wisely® to develop patient education materials to help them discuss what care they truly need.

Some of the reports may be accessed below. To see a complete list of reports, including some in Spanish, please visit the Choosing Wisely® website.

ALLERGY TESTS

ASTHMA (SPIROMETRY FOR ASTHMA)

ANTIBIOTICS USE

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE TESTING

CANCER

HEART DISEASE

PAIN

PRE-SURGERY TESTS

WOMEN'S HEALTH

OTHER