Choosing Wisely Canada held its annual National Meeting on May 12 and 13. Although we spent the two days online and physically apart, the National Meeting continues to be an opportunity for our Choosing Wisely community to connect. Over 1000 clinicians, patient and public members, researchers, and health care partners signed up to participate in the two-day event, marking the largest registration we’ve had at the National Meeting.

Highlights included:

• An opening keynote panel with Dr. Danielle Martin from Women’s College Hospital, Dr. Ann Collins from the Canadian Medical Association, and Dr. Verna Yiu from Alberta Health Services. The panel reflected and provided future thinking on rebuilding Canada’s health care system beyond the pandemic.
• An afternoon keynote on how behavioural economics can help inform medical choices with Dr. David Asch from the University of Pennsylvania.
• A keynote presentation on battling the infodemic with misinformation debunker and Professor Timothy Caulfield from the University of Alberta.
• Concurrent sessions in English and French on a variety of Choosing Wisely topics including antibiotic stewardship, serious illness conversations, lab utilization, and more.
• More is More: A comedy skit prepared by comedians, actors, and academics on what really happens when a test is ordered. Special thanks to Dr. Vikas Bansal from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for writing and directing this Choosing Wisely satire skit. Watch here.

It’s difficult to capture everything that happened, but check out our highlight video that features a few moments from the National Meeting.

Choosing Wisely Innovations

If you missed the two-day virtual event, you can still access leading examples of Choosing Wisely initiatives found in our 2021 Abstract Book. This book features relevant submissions that reflect the breadth of work taking place across the country and beyond.

Thank you

A big thank you to our National Meeting Planning Committee for their thoughtful contributions that shaped the two-day event. We also extend our thanks to the Canadian Medical Association and key campaign collaborators that joined as virtual booths.

Finally, as we reflect on the challenges of this past year, we are thankful to the speakers, participants, and wider Choosing Wisely community for your continued engagement with the campaign. To our health care community, we are deeply grateful for your leadership, resilience, and continued pursuit of quality care when it has been needed most.

We look forward to seeing you in 2022!