In 2023, Choosing Wisely Canada launched society grants, offering $10,000 to Canadian medical societies committed to advancing recommendations in practice. Nine societies received funding to support projects aimed at meaningful improvements in health care. Now, after the first year, societies are sharing their progress and the impact of their initiatives:

• Canadian Thoracic Society – Developed eAMS-eco, an eco-focused, enhanced pre-existing asthma tool to implement in 15 practices, which began preliminary testing in Summer 2024.
• Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada – Improved implementation of their Choosing Wisely Canada recommendation, by releasing a joint statement with the Canadian Orthopaedic Association and launching a toolkit (Supporting Implementation of Oral Antibiotic Treatment for Prosthetic Joint Infections).
• Canadian Association of Hospital Dentists – Developed The Whole Tooth: A Toolkit for Using Antibiotics Wisely for the Management of Toothache in Dental Practice, to promote the uptake and implementation of two recommendations from the CAHD list. This will be released in the coming months.
• Canadian Association of General Surgeons – Increased awareness and uptake of seven General Surgery recommendations by creating a dedicated booth at the 2023 Canadian Surgery Forum (Choosing Wisely Canada loop presentation, survey, trivia game), and hosting a series of four webinars highlighting specific recommendations.
• Canadian Pharmacists Association – Released three primary tools to aid in the implementation of the Choosing Wisely Canada recommendation on daily glucose monitoring, including a guiding algorithm, infographic, and video series.
• Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists – Planned a marketing campaign and contest to promote Choosing Wisely Canada climate recommendations for Hospital Pharmacy, to be launched late Fall.
• Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science – Developed, tested and soft-launched a web-based calculator tool to determine waste reduction metrics of implementing Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations, with the goal of enhancing lab utilization and reducing unnecessary testing.
• Canadian Critical Care Society – Developed a new stream of Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations related to climate action in Critical Care.
• Canadian Orthopaedic Association – Improved access to knowledge on environmental stewardship in the Orthopaedic operating room, through virtual learning webinars, Board of Directors training and a meeting with a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

All of the grant recipients have made great strides throughout 2023-24, advancing their initiatives and improving access to Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations for their practices. Many of the societies will be building on these efforts in the coming months and years.