Think Twice Before Choosing Wisely - 05/25/2016
Commentary — March 2015
By Bob Lanier, MD
The Choosing Wisely campaign is a media stunt gone mainstream to prepare for single-payer rationing. Sorry, but I think it's a major political mistake with unintended consequences, and the rah-rah support of the Texas Medical Association makes me nervous.
I first became aware of Choosing Wisely when, as executive medical director for a 5,000-member national specialty society, I was contacted for endorsement by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The original task requested of our executive committee was to identify the five most "abused or overused tests" ordered by physicians in our specialty either through ignorance or for personal profit. I, of course, began to look for how this information was to be used and what the implications of the program might be. I found the Choosing Wisely concept was the brainchild of the National Physicians Alliance (NPA), whose activities in the past few years included Support for Taxes on Sod...