Choosing Wisely - New recommendations on questionable tests and treatments

The Choosing Wisely Australia campaign, an initiative of NPS MedicineWise, this week released 61 recommendations of tests, treatments and procedures that may not be necessary and that healthcare providers and consumers should question. The recommendations cover areas such as appropriate use of imaging and screening, use of antibiotics, and improving end of life and palliative care.

Fourteen Australian colleges, societies and associations developed the list of recommendations, which are not prescriptive but are intended as guidance to start a conversation about what is appropriate and necessary. Each recommendation is based on the best available evidence. The list includes many practices and treatments often considered routine and uncontroversial, but which evidence shows achieve little and are potentially harmful.