Helping reduce unnecessary tests and treatments
Choosing Wisely Ontario is a campaign to help clinicians and patients talk about unnecessary tests and treatments.
It is part of the broader Choosing Wisely Canada campaign, which has developed over 300 recommendations for tests and treatments that clinicians and patients should question.
Over 70 health care organizations nationally have already taken steps to put many of these recommendations into practice.
The focus of Choosing Wisely Ontario — led by Health Quality Ontario and Choosing Wisely Canada — is to encourage widespread adoption of these recommendations across Ontario’s hospitals, primary care clinics and long-term care homes, and to provide tools and supports in several high priority areas.
Choosing Wisely Ontario is guided by a steering committee (see members below) consisting of frontline clinicians, patients and organizations in Ontario representing hospital care, primary care and long-term care.
Key resources currently available from Choosing Wisely Canada are featured in the links below:
Plus, change packages are available to support 4 priorities in Ontario
Find resources to help you get started on these 4 priorities, along with sample indicators to track your progress, and links to an online forum where you can connect with others in Ontario working on the same change idea.
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Reducing benzodiazepine use
- Reducing preoperative testing
- Reducing blood transfusions
- Reducing imaging for low back pain
These change packages include as a resource the Diving Into Overuse in Hospitals national campaign. This Choosing Wisely Canada campaign calls on hospitals to reduce unnecessary tests and treatments.
Health Quality Ontario and the Ontario Hospital Association are partners in Ontario.
Led by North York General Hospital in Toronto and funded by ARTIC (Adopting Research to Improve Care), Choosing Wisely: An Idea Worth Spreading is a project that improves quality care by helping clinicians and patients engage in conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures.
It has spread to five hospitals and six family health teams across the Greater Toronto Area resulting in less tests, treatments and hospital visits.
Project results are below.
READ INFOGRAPHIC
Participants in the Choosing Wisely Ontario campaign can connect on Quorum, Ontario’s online community about improving health care quality.
Share your successes, lessons learned, and questions in this post to help inspire and unite Ontario’s Choosing Wisely community.
Read Quorum Post
Baycrest Geriatric Health Sciences
Canadian Anesthesiologists Society Choosing Wisely Committee
Canadian Nursing Association Ontario
Choosing Wisely
Health Quality Ontario
Ministry of Health
North York General Hospital
Ontario College of Family Physicians
Ontario Hospital Association
Ontario Medical Association
Ontario Medical Students Association
Ontario Pharmacists Association
Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network
Patient Advisor
Practicing Wisely, Ontario College of Family Physicians
Public Health Ontario
If you have any questions about Choosing Wisely Ontario or want to learn more about how to get involved, please email us at info@choosingwiselycanada.org.