The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is among the most recent medical specialty associations to join the Choosing Wisely campaign. Launched in December 2011 by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, Choosing Wisely is designed to engage physicians, patients, and other health care stakeholders into thinking and talking about the overuse or misuse of medical tests and procedures that provide little benefit and, in some instances, cause harm to patients.
All national medical specialty societies that join the campaign, including ASCP, will identify five tests or procedures often used in their specialty medical area, whose use could be debated. The resulting lists will spark conversations about the need or lack of need for many frequently ordered tests or treatments. As a first step as part of its commitment to the Choosing Wisely campaign, ASCP will be working closely with its members and leadership over the next few months to identify five laboratory tests that the industry can use better to help patients.
In addition to ASCP, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Radiology will join the following organizations that enrolled in the campaign in late 2011: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; American Academy of Family Physicians; American College of Cardiology; American Gastroenterological Association; American Society of Clinical Oncology; American Society of Nephrology; American Society of Nuclear Cardiology; and Consumer Reports.
Source: ASCP
