Podcasts about abim foundation

Welcome to the Choosing Wisely Campaign series! This is the second episode of a 6-part series exploring the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely Lists. This campaign aims to promote conversations between clinicians and patients to avoid unnecessary medical tests, treatments, and procedures. The first of our case-based episodes presents a school age child with syncope. After a clear discussion of the case and thoughtful consideration of an acute care differential, we use the AAP's Choosing Wisely cardiac list to create a resource-conscious care plan that is safe and patient-centered. In the coming episodes, we'll explore the pediatric lists and apply our knowledge to cases of common presentations seen in primary and acute care pediatrics.    Series Learning Objectives: Introduction to the Choosing Wisely Campaign: Understand the origins, historical precedent, and primary goals of the campaign. Case-Based Applications: Explore five common presentations in primary and acute care pediatrics, applying concepts from various Choosing Wisely lists to guide management and resource stewardship. Effective Communication: Learn strategies for engaging in tough conversations with parents and colleagues to create allies and ensure evidence-based practices are followed. Competencies: AACN Essentials: 1: 1.1 g, 1.2f 2: 2.1 de, 2.2g, 2.5 ij 6: 6.1 i 7: 7.2 ghk 9: 9.1ij, 9.2ij, 9.3ik NONPF NP Core Competencies: 1: NP1.1h, NP 1.2km 2: NP2.1jg, NP2.2kn, NP2.5 lo 6: NP6.1o 7: NP7.2m 9: NP9.1mn, NP9.2n, NP9.3p References: AAP Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. (2020). Five things physicians and patients should question. https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/Choosing%20Wisely/CWCardio.pdf Gilpin, K., & Goode, Z. (2024). Syncope. Pediatrics in review, 45(10), 606–608. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2023-006053

Welcome to the Choosing Wisely Campaign series! This 6-part series will explore the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely Campaign, its historical precedent, and its goals. We will discuss how this initiative aims to promote conversations between clinicians and patients to avoid unnecessary medical tests, treatments, and procedures. The introduction episode dives into the historic 2010 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine that inspired over 80 professional societies to write their “Top 5 Lists” of tests and procedures that could be avoided in evidence-based care. To better understand the problem, we then pick apart the survey that provided insight into why we over order and the harm it causes to vulnerable populations.  In the coming episodes, we'll explore the pediatric lists and apply our knowledge to cases of common presentations seen in primary and acute care pediatrics.  Author: Becky Carson, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC www.thepedsnp.com Instagram: @thepedsnppodcast Series Learning Objectives: Introduction to the Choosing Wisely Campaign: Understand the origins, historical precedent, and primary goals of the campaign. Case-Based Applications: Explore five common presentations in primary and acute care pediatrics, applying concepts from various Choosing Wisely lists to guide management and resource stewardship. Effective Communication: Learn strategies for engaging in tough conversations with parents and colleagues to create allies and ensure evidence-based practices are followed. Competencies: AACN Essentials: 1: 1.1 g, 1.2f 2: 2.1 de, 2.2g, 2.5 ij 6: 6.1 i 7: 7.2 ghk 9: 9.1ij, 9.2ij, 9.3ik NONPF NP Core Competencies: 1: NP1.1h, NP 1.2km 2: NP2.1jg, NP2.2kn, NP2.5 lo 6: NP6.1o 7: NP7.2m 9: NP9.1mn, NP9.2n, NP9.3p Modified rMETRIQ Score: 15/15 Learn more about our peer review process at www.thepedsnp.com/peerreview   References: ABIM Foundation. (2019). Communicating about overuse with vulnerable populations. Retrieved from https://www.choosingwisely.org/files/Communicating-About-Overuse-to-Vulnerable-Population_Final2.pdf Brody, H. (2010). Medicine's ethical responsibility for health care reform--the Top Five list. The New England journal of medicine, 362(4), 283–285. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp0911423 Lipitz-Snyderman, A., & Bach, P. B. (2013). Overuse of health care services: when less is more … more or less. JAMA internal medicine, 173(14), 1277–1278. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.6181 PerryUndem Research/Communication. (2014). Unnecessary tests and procedures in the health care system. Retrieved from https://www.choosingwisely.org/files/Final-Choosing-Wisely-Survey-Report.pdf Smith-Bindman, R., Chu, P. W., Azman Firdaus, H., Stewart, C., Malekhedayat, M., Alber, S., Bolch, W. E., Mahendra, M., Berrington de González, A., & Miglioretti, D. L. (2025). Projected Lifetime Cancer Risks From Current Computed Tomography Imaging. JAMA internal medicine, e250505. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0505 Wyman, O. (2019). Right Place, Right Time: Health Information & Vulnerable Populations. https://www.oliverwyman.com/RightPlaceRightTime.html  

Dr Richard Baron MD - Immediate Past President and CEO, American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation talks about how social media was used in a positive fashion by healthcare professionals to conduct a successful COVID vaccination program during the height of the pandemic.This podcast was recorded earlier in 2024 prior to Dr Baron's leaving his post as President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine in September 2024REFERENCE Lalani HS, DiResta R, Baron RJ, Scales D. Addressing viral medical rumors and false or misleading information. Annals of Internal Medicine.2023 Aug;176(8):1113-20.

Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, is president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation. In this timely and important podcast, Baron discusses the history and mission of the ABIM and its role in healthcare in the United States. The ABIM, most recently, has taken on the issue of medical misinformation and how it has contributed to the deterioration of trust in medicine and science. Baron discusses, in detail, a recent piece in The New England Journal of Medicine where he and his co-author discuss the importance of the medical profession maintaining independence from political interference and the consequences of attempts to politicize medical issues. Baron expands on how this situation is having an impact on physicians, their patients, and medicine. As a bonus, host Mike Sacopulos and Dr. Baron discuss Baron's undergraduate degree in English and how those studies helped both his writing and his skills as a physician leader. Protecting the Legitimacy of Medical Expertise by Richard J. Baron, MD, and Carl H. Coleman, JD https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2214120 https://www.abim.org/ Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, is president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation.  In this timely and important podcast, Baron discusses the history and mission of the ABIM and its role in healthcare in the United States. The ABIM, most recently, has taken on the issue of medical misinformation and how it has contributed to the deterioration of trust in medicine and science. Baron discusses, in detail, a recent piece in The New England Journal of Medicine where he and his co-author discuss the importance of the medical profession maintaining independence from political interference and the consequences of attempts to politicize medical issues. Baron expands on how this situation is having an impact on physicians, their patients, and medicine. As a bonus, host Mike Sacopulos and Dr. Baron discuss Baron's undergraduate degree in English and how those studies helped both his writing and his skills as a physician leader. Protecting the Legitimacy of Medical Expertise by Richard J. Baron, MD, and Carl H. Coleman, JD https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2214120 https://www.abim.org/ Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org  

Rich Baron, MD, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation, joins to discuss the importance of rebuilding trust in the health care system. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts. For more information, visit: https://buildingtrust.org/

Kate Carmody, MPH is a Program Associate at ABIM Foundation. She has also done work in freelancing as a public health professional for Comprehensive Care Center. She got her Bachelor's Degree in Public health & Women's and Gender Studies at the College of Charleston. Then got her Master of Public Health at the University of New England. She works as a Program Associate at ABIM Foundation as well as a Freelance Healthcare Public Relations Specialist at Comprehensive Care Center. Kate's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmodyk/ Shownotes: http://thephmillennial.com/episode76 Support The Public Health Millennial: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thephmillennial Use Code “thePHmillennial” for discount: https://thepublichealthstore.com Website: https://thephmillennial.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thephmillennial (@thePHmillennial) Email List: https://thephmillennial.com/signup/ Support the show (http://paypal.me/thePHmillennial)Support the show (http://paypal.me/thePHmillennial)

In order to practice medicine, doctors have to take and pass board certification exams to prove they are current in their field. Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation, reveals the importance of these exams beyond testing medical knowledge. He shares ideas about the future of primary care, quality measurement and what it truly means to be a good doctor.

Donald E. Wesson, MD, MBA, FACP, FASN, currently serves as President of the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center, as well as Senior Vice President of Baylor Scott & White Weight Management Services. In this role, Dr. Wesson is an advocate for improving the health of communities through focused, data driven population health initiatives. Dr. Wesson is a thought-leader in academic medicine and an internationally recognized researcher in kidney acidifying mechanisms. He has translated his basic science studies to clinical studies examining the role of nutrition in population health and the kidney-protective benefit of nutrition. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers regarding kidney physiology, more than a dozen books about kidney disease and hypertension, and many other papers on cigarette smoking and its effects on kidneys. Previously he was Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean of Texas A&M University College of Medicine in Temple, Texas. His academic career includes roles as the S.C. Arnett Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine and Physiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was Assistant Chief of the Nephrology Section at the Houston VA Hospital. He has received multiple teaching awards while at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Wesson received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended Washington University School of Medicine and earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), completed his Internal Medicine residency and internship at Baylor College of Medicine, and his nephrology research fellowship at the University of Illinois (Chicago). He earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas (Austin). Dr. Wesson was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) in 2007 after serving on a number of ASN committees since 1996. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and its Foundation since 2001 and is past Chair of the ABIM Board of Directors (2007- 2008) and the ABIM Foundation (2012-2014). He has also held multiple positions within the National Kidney Foundation.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This conversation was recorded on June 7th, 2021. In this interview, we talk with Deborah Korenstein, MD, about medical overuse and overdiagnosis. We discuss her April 2021 publication in JAMA Internal Medicine, the Accuracy of Practitioner Estimates of Probability of Diagnosis Before and After Testing as well as the diagnostic process, the teachability of diagnostic reasoning, cognitive biases, and other topics.Who is Deborah Korenstein?Dr. Deborah Korenstein is Chief of the General Internal Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her clinical work focuses on care to adult survivors of childhood and other high-risk cancers. As a researcher and an educator of physicians in training, she is interested in improving the value of care while minimizing unnecessary and potentially harmful tests and treatments. To learn more about mitigating medical overuse, check out the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely campaign and Dr. Korenstein's project Testing Wisely.Factoids:In this week's episode, we list some factoids on the overprescription of antibiotics for viral URIs, the incidence of incidentalomas, and the detection of PE with high resolution CTA. If you'd like to read the articles from which these factoids were taken, check them out below:1. 2019 Update on Medical Overuse: A Review in JAMA Internal MedicineHighlights: Procalcitonin does not affect antibiotic duration in patients with lower respiratory tract infection (4.2 vs 4.3 days)Incidentalomas are present in 22% to 38% of common magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography studies9% of women dying of stage IV cancer are still screened with mammographyClinics commonly overprescribe antibiotics (in 39% of all visits, patients received antibiotics)State medical liability reform was associated with reduced invasive testing for coronary artery disease, including 24% fewer angiograms2. Overdiagnosis in primary care: framing the problem and finding solutions in BMJ (2018)Highlights:Overdiagnosis is defined as the diagnosis of a condition that, if unrecognized, would not cause symptoms or harm a patient during his or her lifetimeOverdiagnosis can harm patients by leading to overtreatment (with associated potential toxicities), diagnosis related anxiety or depression, and labeling, or through financial burden.Many entrenched factors facilitate overdiagnosis, including the growing use of advanced diagnostic technology, financial incentives, a medical culture that encourages greater use of tests and treatments, limitations in the evidence that obscure the understanding of diagnostic utility, use of non-beneficial screening tests, and the broadening of disease definitions. 

Donald E. Wesson, MD, MBA, FACP, FASN, currently serves as President of the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center, as well as Senior Vice President of Baylor Scott & White Weight Management Services. In this role, Dr. Wesson is an advocate for improving the health of communities through focused, data driven population health initiatives. Dr. Wesson is a thought-leader in academic medicine and an internationally recognized researcher in kidney acidifying mechanisms. He has translated his basic science studies to clinical studies examining the role of nutrition in population health and the kidney-protective benefit of nutrition. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers regarding kidney physiology, more than a dozen books about kidney disease and hypertension, and many other papers on cigarette smoking and its effects on kidneys. Previously he was Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean of Texas A&M University College of Medicine in Temple, Texas. His academic career includes roles as the S.C. Arnett Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine and Physiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was Assistant Chief of the Nephrology Section at the Houston VA Hospital. He has received multiple teaching awards while at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Wesson received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended Washington University School of Medicine and earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), completed his Internal Medicine residency and internship at Baylor College of Medicine, and his nephrology research fellowship at the University of Illinois (Chicago). He earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas (Austin). Dr. Wesson was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) in 2007 after serving on a number of ASN committees since 1996. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and its Foundation since 2001 and is past Chair of the ABIM Board of Directors (2007- 2008) and the ABIM Foundation (2012-2014). He has also held multiple positions within the National Kidney Foundation.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Richard Baron is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the ABIM Foundation. Prior to this role, he served as group director of seamless care models at the centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center. Dr. Baron received a bachelor's degree in English from Harvard, and his medical degree from Yale. He completed house staff training at NYU's Bellevue Medical Center, and served a three-year commitment in the National Health Services Corps in rural Tennessee. Dr. Baron has practiced general internal medicine and geriatrics for almost 30 years at Greenhouse Internists located in Philadelphia, which pioneered the comprehensive adoption of electronic health records in a small practice environment. During this time, he also served as chief medical officer of Health Partners, a non-for-profit Medicaid HMO, and was the architect of the Best Clinical and Administrative Practices program, which in collaboration with health plans around the country is touching the lives of more than half of Medicaid managed care population in the U.S. As a trainee, Dr. Richard Baron remembers listening to a patient's chest with his stethoscope when the patient began talking to him. “Quiet,” he said. “I can't hear you while I'm listening.” The irony of his words was not lost on him as he began to ask himself some critical questions - what was I actually listening for? Today, Dr. Baron speaks to the vision of human service that brought him and many others into medicine. Yet as a student, he was taught that the core problem was the diagnosis and that the patient was a ‘translucent screen on which the real disease was projected'. And his job was to subtract the patient, make the screen transparent, and treat the disease. Join us as Dr. Baron shares his journey from rural Tennessee to Philadelphia to becoming a national leader --- pursuing one mission: adding the patient back to the center of medicine. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Being a doctor is like being a police officer in that you are present during critical moments in a person's life. 2. A patient is not a translucent screen on which a disease is projected. Instead of removing the patient and focusing only on the disease, add the patient, their story, their life, into the diagnosis. Then, treat the whole person. 3.  Instead of viewing technology in healthcare as an obstacle, view it as a tool that allows information to be instantly available. Technology was a response to many problems being faced. 4. The fundamental questions a leader should ask is: What does it take for a group of people to work together to take care of a patient? And how do you get everyone on the same page?

Our experts are discussing how to choose wisely in the COVID-19 era. Join Zero Card's Chief Medical Officer, Stan Schwartz, and Mr. Daniel Wolfson, EVP & COO of the ABIM Foundation. Director of Sales, Carrie Barth, will be fielding audience questions about COVID-19, employment, and the impact it has on our society at large.

Donald E. Wesson, MD, MBA, FACP, FASN, currently serves as President of the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center at Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center, as well as Senior Vice President of Baylor Scott & White Weight Management Services. In this role, Dr. Wesson is an advocate for improving the health of communities through focused, data driven population health initiatives. Dr. Wesson is a thought-leader in academic medicine and an internationally recognized researcher in kidney acidifying mechanisms. He has translated his basic science studies to clinical studies examining the role of nutrition in population health and the kidney-protective benefit of nutrition. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers regarding kidney physiology, more than a dozen books about kidney disease and hypertension, and many other papers on cigarette smoking and its effects on kidneys. Previously he was Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean of Texas A&M University College of Medicine in Temple, Texas. His academic career includes roles as the S.C. Arnett Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine and Physiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was Assistant Chief of the Nephrology Section at the Houston VA Hospital. He has received multiple teaching awards while at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Wesson received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended Washington University School of Medicine and earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), completed his Internal Medicine residency and internship at Baylor College of Medicine, and his nephrology research fellowship at the University of Illinois (Chicago). He earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas (Austin). Dr. Wesson was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) in 2007 after serving on a number of ASN committees since 1996. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and its Foundation since 2001 and is past Chair of the ABIM Board of Directors (2007- 2008) and the ABIM Foundation (2012-2014). He has also held multiple positions within the National Kidney Foundation.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationships in healthcare are important and trust is crucial to those relationships. However, it has been on the decline in the United States. We speak with the executive vice president of the ABIM Foundation and representatives from the 8 winning organizations of the foundation's Trust Practice Challenge about the programs they implemented to rebuild trust. Read more: ABIM Foundation Trust Practice Challenge: https://abimfoundation.org/what-we-do/rebuilding-trust-in-health-care/trust-practice-challenge 5 Things About Medical Mistrust: www.ajmc.com/newsroom/5-things-about-medical-mistrust From the Editorial Board: Daniel B. Wolfson, MHSA: www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2019/2019-vol25-n5/from-the-editorial-board-daniel-b-wolfson-mhsa

Trust - or the lack of it - is a critically important issue in healthcare these days. This issue has tangible impact on the care of patients and the work life of providers. There is no question that trust in our medical system has declined. The Gallup poll shows a massive drop in public trust of the medical system from 76% in 1977 to 36% in 2018.. Another highly respected index, the Edelman Trust Barometer, suggests that the American public’s trust in healthcare “crashed” in 2018; dropping 25 points. The Edelman survey experts called this an “extreme trust loss”.  In response to this distrust epidemic, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation has just launched a campaign to address the issue.  It’s called the ‘Trust Practice’ Challenge.What’s unique about this particular interview is that we’ll not only be introduced to an exciting new venture in healthcare, and talk about it with a world-class expert; but, we'll also have the chance to participate in it! In this interview Dr. Richard Baron, the CEO of the ABIM and the ABIM Foundation, shares the goals of the Trust Practice Challenge -  to elicit “inspiring and best-in-class” examples of practices that cultivate trust from and between individuals, provider groups, departments and institutions within and across healthcare.  The purpose of this campaign is to seek out a community of individuals and organizations who care deeply about rebuilding trust in healthcare, and who are interested in getting better at it. The ultimate goal is to improve healthcare relationships, and the experience and outcomes of medical care.Some of the topics Dr. Baron touches on include:The current societal factors that led the ABIM Foundation to select ‘trust’ as the major initiative to address at this point in time and what they’re hoping to accomplish through this initiative.How trust has been eroded in healthcare - between patients and providers, between the public and the healthcare system, between providers and the healthcare system…The elements of trust the ABIM Foundation is hoping to address and rebuild in the profession of medicine and in healthcare in general.  “The four simple rules”  the ABIM Foundation took in launching the Choosing Wisely campaign and how they are adopting that same approach to creating a network of trust.A more detailed description of the ABIM “Trust Practice” Challenge and how you can immediately contribute to that campaign and the community of trust.I applaud the ABIM Foundation for taking on an issue that is so critically important and so ambitious. I am not aware of any other national, systematic effort explicitly focused on rebuilding trust in healthcare.   I also have to share my admiration for their co-creative approach. It’s a highly appreciative, collaborative and respectful stance - looking to the expertise and integrity that is abundant in the profession of medicine and the healthcare community at large.The ABIM Foundation's 'trust practice' initiative is visionary.  It has the potential to reframe and reshape how we think about and go about the work of healthcare delivery, as well as how we redesign and reorganize healthcare delivery for the future. I plan to share this campaign with my colleagues.. The online submission form can be accessed here/, or at www.abimfoundation.org. The last day for submissions is Thursday, February 28th 2019.Zeev Neuwirth, MD 

Healthcare could be improved if policy makers, leaders, and administrators thought more about the role of medical professionalism and the intrinsic motivations of physicians, said Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation, during an interview with Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weigns In. During their discussion, Baron and Salber touched upon professional, social justice in healthcare, burnout in medicine, and more.

Overuse of medical services has been a costly issue in US healthcare for decades. Now in its fifth year, the Choosing Wisely initiative from ABIM Foundation seeks to increase conversations between physicians and patients to help them make wise decisions about appropriate care and reduce the use of low-value services. Learn more about Choosing Wisely: http://www.choosingwisely.org/ Choosing Wisely Brings Lots of Energy, but No Growth in Awareness: www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/choosing-wisely-brings-lots-of-energy-but-no-growth-in-awareness Physician Perceptions of Choosing Wisely and Drivers of Overuse: www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2016/2016-vol22-n5/physician-perceptions-of-choosing-wisely-and-drivers-of-overuse

Date: May 17, 2012 Featuring: Daniel B. Wolfson, Executive Vice President and COO, ABIM Foundation Steven Pearson, MD, MSc, FRCP, President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review – Institute for Technology Assessment Amanda Kost, MD, Acting Assistant Professor, University of Washington Department of Family Medicine Donald Goldmann, MD, Senior Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Karen Boudreau, MD, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer, Boston Medical Center, HealthNet Plan; Former Senior Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Medical Director for IHI Continuum Portfolio Of all the sources of excessive health care spending, none may be higher on the list than the habit of ordering lots of expensive tests and procedures. This appetite for the best of what high-tech medicine can offer – whether warranted or not – is a big factor behind estimates that up to a third of health care spending in the US is wasteful and unnecessary. But everyone also has a story of someone, maybe themselves, helped by a diagnostic procedure. There’s no question that one person’s unnecessary test is another person’s lifesaver. So, how do we get closer to more appropriate use? And is there a more active role that physicians can play?The ABIM Foundation is betting there is a way to bring the ordering of tests and procedures into better balance AND that doctors are key to making this happen. This is the premise behind the ABIM Foundation’s new campaign, Choosing Wisely. Nine medical societies are on board (with eight more joining in the fall), and they’ve each identified five procedures that tend to be overused and that should trigger discussions to ensure that they’re really needed and of value. The American Academy of Family Physicians, for example, has a list that begins with thinking twice before immediately ordering imaging for low back pain.WIHI host Madge Kaplan has assembled a great group of experts: The ABIM Foundation’s Daniel Wolfson will explain the campaign. Karen Boudreau will help us think through the role of family practitioners, while Steven Pearson will contribute some of the latest and sharpest thinking about evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness. Amanda Kost got to put on her “choosing wisely” shoes a bit ahead of the game by being part of the National Physician Alliance’s Promoting Good Stewardship in Medicine project. She’ll provide some key frontline learning on best practices that can help wean doctors and patients alike from reaching for the most expensive solution, first. Finally, IHI’s Don Goldmann, will discuss how Choosing Wisely aligns with other national initiatives and why it’s crucial that the medical profession take a leading role with health care reform.Whether or not you’re directly in the role of ordering tests or procedures, we invite you to consider that we all have a part in making health care more effective and affordable – in other words, of true value to patients.

For today's episode we talk about “Choosing Wisely” for health. What is Choosing Wisely? Well it's a campaign created by the ABIM Foundation to “spark conversations between patients and providers.” Does it work?  I've got my own opinion for another time… Instead we'll go over 3 recommendations:   One for back pain, another for colds […]