Choosing Wisely International Series in BMJ
Dec 15, 2021 - Research
A recently launched series in the BMJ highlights evidence-based approaches to reduce overuse associated with Choosing Wisely recommendations.
Choosing Wisely International Series in BMJ
Dec 15, 2021 - Research
A recently launched series in the BMJ highlights evidence-based approaches to reduce overuse associated with Choosing Wisely recommendations.

Choosing Wisely Canada coordinates the Choosing Wisely International collaboration. This is a consortium of more than 30 countries globally with active Choosing Wisely campaigns. As Choosing Wisely campaigns continue to grow and mature around the world, there is a need for understanding how to embed list recommendations into practice.
The BMJ and the Choosing Wisely international collaboration have partnered on a series of articles that describe evidence-based changes to practice to reduce overuse. These articles are published in the education section of the journal and shine a spotlight on shared Choosing Wisely priority overuse topics across countries. Articles are written by teams of international experts from a variety of specialties related to the topics and include patient coauthors.
The education section of BMJ has a wide global readership and publishes articles on common clinical topics of international appeal to a diverse group of clinicians. The articles are intended to help guide practice and decision-making and include key phrases or statistics to use in conversations with patients.
Articles published to date include:
- Avoid Doing Chest X Rays in Infants with Typical Bronchiolitis
- Using antibiotics wisely for respiratory tract infection in the era of covid-19
- Do not routinely offer imaging for uncomplicated low back pain
- Advise non-pharmacological therapy as first line treatment for chronic insomnia
- Reducing unnecessary red blood cell transfusion in hospitalised patients