Information and Resources

Important Websites

• Choosing Wisely Canada
• Choosing Wisely (United States)

Resources

• Go to Choosing Wisely Events and submit an abstract to LABCON for your project.
• Perspectives — A digital magazine exploring the overuse phenomenon and what people are doing about it.
• Patient Pamphlets —“When you need it and when you don’t” series
  • More than 35 patient pamphlets have been published by Choosing Wisely Canada in partnership with professional societies. Here are some relevant examples that you can suggest your organization provides to patients.

• Choosing Wisely Canada patient resources
  • The “More is Not Always Better” campaign has printable posters and a waiting room video that can be played for patients.
• Using Labs Wisely During Global Blood Tube and Other Resource Shortages
• ASCP Effective Test Utilization 10-Year Report

Webinars and Videos

• The Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine, in partnership and with funding from Canadian Blood Services’ BloodTechNet program, developed five short animated videos that elaborate on five of their Choosing Wisely recommendations
• Urine Culture & Sensitivity Analysis: A Burning Question in Long-Term Care (webinar)
• Laboratory Utilization: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Strategies (webinar)

Relevant Literature

• Version 8 of the IQMH Medical Laboratory Accreditation Requirements
• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) – Evidence for Optimizing the Use of Lab Tests
• Transforming Laboratory Utilization Review into Laboratory Stewardship: Guidelines by the
  PLUGS® National Committee for Laboratory Stewardship
  
• Inappropriate Repeats of Six Common Tests in a Canadian City: A Population Cohort Study Within a Laboratory Informatics Framework
• Laboratory test inappropriateness: lessons revisited and clarified in seven questions
• What the Doctor Ordered: Improving the Use and Value of Laboratory Testing
• Inappropriate repeat testing of complete blood count (CBC) and electrolyte panels in inpatients from Alberta, Canada
• Implementation of an intervention to reduce population-based screening for vitamin D deficiency: a cross-sectional study
• Don’t forget to search PubMed and other literature databases to find specific articles related to your laboratory test questions.
  • If you search the recommendation database, you will find many valuable references.
• Choosing Wisely and the climate crisis: a role for clinicians
• Developing an Online Widget to Demonstrate Potential Financial, Human, and Environmental Savings in Canadian Diagnostic Testing