Choosing Wisely Canada

Choosing Wisely Canada is the national voice for reducing unnecessary tests and treatments in health care. Choosing Wisely Canada launched on April 2, 2014, and is organized by a small team from the University of Toronto, Canadian Medical Association and St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto). It is part of a global movement that began in the United States in 2012, which now spans 20 countries across 5 continents. Choosing Wisely Canada inspires and engages health care professionals to take leadership in reducing unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures, and enables them with simple tools and resources that make it easier to choose wisely. It does so by partnering with professional societies representing different clinical specialties (e.g., cardiology, family medicine, nursing) to come up with lists of “Things 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 could expose patients to harm. Choosing Wisely Canada also partners with a wide range of medical associations, health system as well as patient organizations to help put these recommendations into practice.