Launching a grassroots effort to reduce inappropriate or over-utilized lab testing and improve the quality and safety of medicine, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is collaborating with the California Society of Pathologists (CSP) to present a Choosing Wisely symposium at CSP’s 2013 Annual Meeting on Dec. 7, 2013.
“Choosing Wisely: How California Pathologists Can Influence Appropriate Testing” will help California pathologists effectively implement ASCP’s Choosing Wisely best practices; impact positive clinical outcomes and cost reduction; and overcome communication, organizational, and systems barriers to do so.
The ASCP is partnering with the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely campaign to engage physicians in being better stewards of finite healthcare resources. ASCP identified five recommendations for reducing inappropriate testing:
- Do not perform population-based screening for 25-OH-Vitamin D deficiency.
- Do not perform low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing.
- Avoid routine preoperative testing for low-risk surgeries without a clinical indication.
- Order Methylated Septin (SEPT9) only on patients for whom conventional diagnostics are not possible.
- Do not use bleeding time tests to guide patient care.
ASCP and other professional societies involved in the Choosing Wisely campaign were challenged to identify healthcare practices that may provide little, if any, benefit to patients. ASCP’s five recommendations were chosen because they refer to tests that are performed frequently; there is evidence that the test offers no benefit or is harmful; use of the test is costly and does not provide higher quality care; and eliminating it or changing to another test is within the clinician’s control. Learn more about the Choosing Wisely campaign, with valuable video links.
