Choosing Wisely Canada

Choosing Wisely Canada’s National Meeting will return to an in-person event on May 11 and 12, 2023. Join us in Toronto at the Globe and Mail Centre for two days of engaging keynote speakers, workshops, and breakout sessions.

Bringing together health professionals, patients, system leaders, and researchers, this two-day event is a unique opportunity to learn about leading Choosing Wisely efforts taking place across the country.

About Choosing Wisely Canada

Choosing Wisely Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association, launched on April 2, 2014, to help clinicians and patients engage in conversations about unnecessary tests and treatments. The campaign is part of a global movement that began in the United States in 2012, which now spans more than 20 countries across 5 continents.

Over the past five years, Choosing Wisely Canada has led large-scale mobilization efforts to inspire and engage health care professionals and patients to take leadership in reducing unnecessary tests and treatments. It does so by developing evidence-based tools and resources that make it easier to choose wisely in practice.

Central to the campaign, Choosing Wisely Canada partners with professional societies representing different clinical specialties to develop lists of tests and treatments that clinicians and patients should question. These lists of recommendations identify tests and treatments commonly used in each specialty that are not supported by evidence and do not add value to patient care.

Choosing Wisely Canada partners with a wide range of medical associations, health systems as well as patient organizations to educate patients and the public about overuse and to help put campaign recommendations into practice. It has also partnered with medical students across all 17 Canadian medical schools to embed campaign principles into undergraduate teaching.

In the past five years, Choosing Wisely Canada has evolved from a conversation between clinician and patients to the national voice for reducing unnecessary tests and treatments. This has been possible thanks to the ongoing efforts and leadership of engaged clinicians and patients across Canada and key Canadian health care organizations that have partnered closely with the campaign.

Contact:
Choosing Wisely Alberta
choosingwiselyab@ucalgary.ca

Visit Choosing Wisely Canada

Taking Action with Recommendations

Choosing Wisely Alberta – What has been done?

Over the past five years, a variety of health system partners have undertaken projects using CWC recommendations aiming to improve patient care in relation to lower back pain and diagnostic imaging, antipsychotic and sedative use in seniors, appropriate Pap smear testing, and Vitamin D testing. Some of the groups engaged in this work include Toward Optimized Practice, the Physician Learning Program, Strategic Clinical Networks, and Enhancing Alberta Primary Care Research Networks.

How to do more

The CWC recommendations are meant to encourage conversations about what is considered appropriate and necessary treatment. As each patient situation is unique, clinicians and patients can use the Choosing Wisely Canada materials to determine an appropriate treatment plan together.

Health system partners can design and implement interventions that focus on patient care and optimal use, are data-driven to show success, include all relevant stakeholders in partnership coordination, and build a universal plan for maximum impact.

Choosing Wisely Alberta Funding

Choosing Wisely Alberta will be funding important and innovative projects that further the goals of advancing care through promoting appropriate testing and clinical management. Addressing unwarranted variation in practice patterns in the use of lower-value testing and treatments is crucial for resource stewardship. Liberating resources from lower-value care will permit allocation to areas of pressing need in underserved health areas.

Choosing Wisely Recommendations

2021 Choosing Wisely Alberta Grants Competition Results

The Alberta Back Care Pathway (ABCp)

Applicant Name

Dr. Greg Kawchuk BSc, DC, MSc, PhD
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta

Title of Project

The Alberta Back Care Pathway (ABCp)
A new strategy to reduce inappropriate low back pain interventions in family practice

Amount Awarded

$75,000

Choosing Wisely: Reducing the Overuse of Sedatives and Analgesics in Critical Ca

Applicant Name

Dr. Arabesque Parker, MD FRCPC MSc QIPS
Critical Care and Hematology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta

Title of Project

Choosing Wisely: Reducing the Overuse of Sedatives and Analgesics in Critical Care

Amount Awarded

$75,000

Don't delay palliative care

Applicant Name

Dr. Jessica Simon, MB ChB, FRCPC
Associate Professor and Head, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary

Title of Project

Don't delay palliative care: Implementing shared care letters to strengthen coordinated palliative care for people living with metastatic colorectal cancer

Amount Awarded

$75,000

2019 Choosing Wisely Alberta Grants Competition Results

REDUCE (RED blood cell Utilization in Critical carE)

Applicant Name

Dr. Daniel J. Niven, MD MSc PhD FRCPC

Depts. of Critical Care Medicine, Medicine and Community Health Science

University of Calgary

Title of Project

REDUCE (RED blood cell Utilization in Critical carE)

Integrated knowledge translation initiative to reduce unnecessary red blood cell (RBC) transfusions among non-bleeding critically ill patients in Alberta.

Amount Awarded

$99,631

Gastroscopy to Investigate Dyspepsia

Applicant Name

Dr. Kerri Novak MD

Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine

University of Calgary

Title of Project

Can we improve the use of gastroscopy to investigate dyspepsia in otherwise healthy adults in Alberta? Sharing Choosing Wisely Canada guidelines, current practice patterns and
resources to optimize appropriate use

Amount Awarded

$95,631

Hospital Lab Utilization

The two projects below will run in a separate but complementary manner.

Applicant Name

Dr. Anshula Ambasta MD MPH FRCPC Division of General Internal Medicine Department of Medicine

University of Calgary

Title of Project

Optimization of routine laboratory test utilization on inpatient medical units

Amount Awarded

$50,000

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Applicant Name

Dr. Narmin Kassam MD MHPE FACP FRCPC

Deputy Clinical Department Head Medicine, Edmonton Zone

Alberta Health Services

Title of Project

The Effectiveness of a Sequenced Multicomponent Intervention: Reducing Urea Utilization and Laboratory Test Order Frequency on Alberta Medicine Hospital Wards

Amount Awarded

$50,000

Choosing Wisely Alberta Partners