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Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) is a campaign to help physicians and patients engage in conversation about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures, and to make smart and effective choices to ensure high-quality care.

Choosing Wisely Canada supports the equally important role of patient education and engagement and the need to dispel the false notion that "more care is better care".

The list of  "Top 5 Unnecessary Tests Physicians and Patients Should Question"

Five recommendations were selected through surveying CAS members. Data collection and analysis were completed by the CAS research team in conjunction with a professional survey consultant and expert consensus.

The top five were presented at the CAS Annual Meeting in June 2015.

  1. Don’t order baseline laboratory studies (complete blood count, coagulation testing or serum biochemistry) for asymptomatic patients undergoing low-risk non-cardiac surgery.
     
  2. Don’t order a baseline electrocardiogram for asymptomatic patients undergoing low-risk non-cardiac surgery.
     
  3. Don’t order a baseline chest x-ray in asymptomatic patients, except as part of surgical or oncological evaluation.
     
  4. Don’t perform resting echocardiography as part of pre-operative assessment for asymptomatic patients undergoing low to intermediate-risk non- cardiac surgery.
     
  5. Don’t perform cardiac stress testing for asymptomatic patients undergoing low to intermediate risk non-cardiac surgery.

For a fuller explanation of these recommendations, click here.