Choosing Wisely® Campaign
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Choosing Wisely® Campaign
The Choosing Wisely® campaign is an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) that works to improve communication between providers and patients. The campaign began in April 2012 with the goal of promoting communication that would help patients choose care that is supported by evidence, does not duplicate tests or procedures that have already been completed, does not cause harm and is truly needed to guide care. The ABIM Foundation challenged medical organizations to develop a list focused on their specialty. Currently, there are over 60 health care provider organizations that have released a list of tests or procedures to consider and addition organizations that plan to release a list in the coming months. There are 14 consumer groups that have collaborated with Consumer Reports that are supporting the Choosing Wisely®campaign, including AARP and the Leapfrog Group.
The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) was invited to participate in the Choosing Wisely®campaign to develop recommendations specific to the role of nursing. AAN is leading the nursing profession’s recommendations and plays a critical role in the education of nurses nationwide regarding the recommendations. At the AAN conference last fall, the first five nursing recommendations were released and include considerations regarding fetal monitoring, mobility for older adult patients, restraints, waking for routine care, and urinary catheters. An additional five recommendations related to the care of patients with cancer were released in April 2015. Additional recommendations will be coming within the next few months.
Since the Choosing Wisely® Campaign is focused on educating the general public about making informed health care decisions, nurses are in a unique position to assist with this campaign. Nursing must be involved because patients trust nurses. Each year the Gallup organization conducts a survey regarding honesty and ethics in professions. The question states "please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields – very high, high, average, low, or very low?". In 2013, nurses were rated the highest with 82% of participants scoring nurses as high or very high on this question. Nurses have topped this list every year since 1999 except in 2001 when firefighters were ranked at the top of the list.
In October 2014, Texas was selected by the American Academy of Nursing as the lead pilot state to implement the nursing components of the Choosing Wisely® campaign. The campaign will be implemented in two phases. Phase one of the pilot project is focused on the development of toolkits to educate advance practice registered nurses and registered nurses about the Choosing Wisely® campaign and to develop tools that evaluate the effectiveness of the education provided.
Phase two of the pilot project will be launched in collaboration with the national Campaign for Action: Future of Nursing led by AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The Choosing Wisely®Campaign aligns with the goals of the Campaign for Action in that both campaigns are focused on changing healthcare in the 21st century. During phase two, the Choosing Wisely® campaign will be launched in selected states chosen by AAN.
How can you help? Go to choosingwisely.org to learn more. Then take those recommendations back to your organization and begin improving communication while reducing unnecessary health care for our patients.
