Are you “Choosing Wisely” with Cardiac Imaging?

Results are in from the Choosing Wisely initiative - a campaign designed to reduce the use of frequent tests deemed "low value" - like cardiac imaging.

A recently published study from JAMA Internal Medicine examining the frequency and trends of services from 2012 Choosing Wisely recommendations across 25 million Anthem health plan members found statistically significant reductions in cardiac imaging and other "low value" services.

Some context: many uses of cardiac imaging were deemed "low value" by the ACC in 2012.

The American College of Cardiology contributed to some of the earliest Choosing Wisely recommendations from 2012 - the recommendations that this study tracked. One of these recommendations has since been withdrawn due to new science, but the four that remain relate to cardiac imaging.

They are:

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Staffing the Echo-EKG Lab

teamwork in the echo/ekg lab

Adjusting Echo-EKG Lab Staffing to Variable Volumes

When hospital occupancy determines volume in your Echo-EKG lab, staffing the right number and mix of professionals for variable demand can be a challenge.

Adjusting staff to volume is the name of the game for Cardiology Supervisor Joyce Ukleja of the Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush University Medical Center.

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