Choosing Wisely – Avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures

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Choosing Wisely – Avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures

In 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation launched Choosing Wisely, an initiative to advance a national dialogue on avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures. The initiative has subsequently become global and Choosing Wisely UK was launched last week by the Academy or Medical Royal Colleges. The Academy listed 40 treatments and procedures that are of little or no benefit to patients using recommendations supplied by NICE, and the eleven medical royal colleges that have contributed to date.

The Academy’s list included the recommendation that ‘back pain which is uncomplicated, that is not associated with ‘red flags’ or radicolupathy usually does not require imaging‘. The Royal College of Chiropractors (RCC) is pleased to support this recommendation which concurs with the RCC’s Quality Standards on Acute Low Back Pain and Chronic Low Back Pain.