ORLANDO – Five “Choosing Wisely” initiatives selected from other specialties were featured at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Dr. Lisa Hicks of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto led ASH’s Choosing Wisely list and moderated their presentation and the discussion of this year’s recommendations at the meeting. In a video interview, Dr. Hicks discussed the five recommendations and how hematologists can influence better patient care through cross-specialty collaborations. The complete Choosing Wisely list is available at www.hematology.org/choosingwisely
The 2015 Choosing Wisely recommendations, selected from recommendations made previously by other organizations, are:
• Don’t image for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) without moderate or high pre-test probability of PE. (American College of Radiology)
• Don’t perform repetitive CBC and chemistry testing in the face of clinical and lab stability. (Society of Hospital Medicine)
• Don’t routinely order thrombophilia testing on patients undergoing a routine infertility evaluation. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)
• Don’t transfuse red blood cells for iron deficiency without hemodynamic instability. (American Association of Blood Banks)
• Avoid using PET or PET-CT scanning as part of routine follow-up care to monitor for a cancer recurrence in asymptomatic patients who have finished initial treatment to eliminate the cancer unless there is high-level evidence that such imaging will change the outcome. (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
Choosing Wisely is an initiative of the ABIM Foundation. Dr. Hicks had no relevant financial disclosures.