Choosing Wisely program launches

WITH FUNDING SUPPORT from the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Business Group on Health and the Rhode Island Medical Society launched the Choosing Wisely program Friday morning.
WITH FUNDING SUPPORT from the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Business Group on Health and the Rhode Island Medical Society launched the Choosing Wisely program Friday morning.

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Business Group on Health and the Rhode Island Medical Society launched Rhode Island’s Choosing Wisely program this morning at Brown University.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo delivered a proclamation making Rhode Island the nation’s first “Choosing Wisely State.”
Choosing Wiseley’s goal is to promote conversations between patients and clinicians about appropriate test and treatment options. Materials will be distributed so patients will know what questions to ask their doctors about their care.
This supports the national Choosing Wisely campaign, a program of the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports that includes more than 100 medical society and consumer organization partners.
The local program is being funded by a $50,000 Rhode Island Foundation grant; it also seeks to increase public awareness about risks of, and alternatives to, opioid prescription pain medications such as Oxycodone and other narcotics.
Attending the event at Brown were physicians, patients, and community and business leaders.

“With the support of our society partners, Consumer Reports and efforts like the one taking place in Rhode Island, Choosing Wisely is helping spark conversations all across the country about avoiding unnecessary tests and treatments and improving patient care,” Daniel Wolfson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the ABIM Foundation, said in a statement. “This new program in Rhode Island represents an important step for the campaign in localizing conversations on waste and overuse, and we appreciate RIBGH’s leadership in advancing Choosing Wisely.”

RIBGH is promoting Choosing Wisely along with Brown University, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. and The Washington Trust Co. The top campaign sponsor is The Journey to Hope, Health & Healing, a regional outpatient treatment center for opioid addiction with locations in Providence, Johnston and Westerly; Hasbro Inc. also is a campaign sponsor.

Materials used in the program have been developed in cooperation with the ABIMF and Consumer Reports by medical professionals at more than 75 different medical specialty societies nationwide. Materials include condition-specific literature, videos, educational tool kits and websites for consumers and employers. Consumers can also download a Choosing Wisely app for their iPhones and Android phones by searching Echo AUC in the Apple iTunes or Google Play stores.

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