Choosing Wisely

Choosing Wisely:

The Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) is pleased to support the goals of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely® campaign. The membership of SGIM consists of academic general internal medicine faculty practicing, teaching and conducting research in outpatient settings as well as in our nation’s teaching hospitals. As leading teachers of the next generation of physicians, we are committed to moving the practice of medicine to a more evidence-based approach. We are deeply committed to using science to improve our knowledge base so that our patients can receive the best treatments, the optimal prevention care and the highest quality of life. We believe that the Choosing Wisely campaign mirrors these same commitments to the evidence-based practice of medicine for the benefit of our patients.

How this List was Created: 

An ad hoc committee of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) was impaneled, taking advantage of the clinical expertise of members from the existing Clinical Practice and the Evidence-Based Medicine Committees within the Society. Members of the ad hoc committee were then solicited to determine possible topics for consideration. The topics chosen were selected to meet the goals of theChoosing Wisely campaign, utilizing the unique clinical perspective of members of the Society in ambulatory General Medicine as well as hospital-based practice. The final topics were selected by a vote of committee members based on the strength of the existing evidence, the unique standing members of the Society have in addressing the clinical topics selected, as well as contributions the recommendations would make in terms of patient safety, quality and economic impact. The final recommendations were approved by the governing Council of SGIM.

Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question:

1. Don’t recommend daily home finger glucose testing in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus not using insulin.
2. Don’t perform routine general health checks for asymptomatic adults.
3. Don’t perform routine pre-operative testing before low-risk surgical procedures.
4. Don’t recommend cancer screening in adults with life expectancy of less than 10 years.
5. Don't place, or leave in place, peripherally inserted central catheters for patient or provider convenience.

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