Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital recently partnered with Choosing Wisely Australia, an international movement calling on facilities and providers to challenge the way healthcare is delivered, by questioning the use of various tests, treatments and procedures.

Consumer representative Noel Muller, Dr Amanda Dines, Dr Judy Graves, Dr Robyn Lindner, Dr Liz Kenny, Dr David Rosengren, Dr Mark Appleyard, Jessica Toleman at the RBWH launch on November 15, 2016.

Senior Staff Specialist Emergency Physician David Rosengren said it was exciting to see the state’s largest hospital get behind a clinician-led initiative, which has the support of the Clinical Council, the Medical Staff Association, RBWH and Metro North executive.

“Most clinicians across the hospital will be able to identify things that are done regularly that might not add value to patient outcomes or experience,” Dr Rosengren said.

“Choosing Wisely is an opportunity for us to work with our patients and each other to actually do something about that.

“RBWH is a world class hospital leading the way in clinical care. Now we have the opportunity to become a leader in value focused care.

“If we can reduce the time, energy and resource tied up in delivering low value care we can redirect that capacity into new and innovative high value care that we want but can’t currently afford. That’s real patient centred care.”

Choosing Wisely Australia acts as a catalyst for public discussion, by encouraging clinicians and consumers to start a conversation about what care is truly needed – identifying which practices are helpful and which are not.

Some RBWH service lines have already started implementing Choosing Wisely recommendations and adopted new initiatives and interventions as a result.

For more information, visit Choosing Wisely Australia.

Facility staff interested in registering their interest are asked to email the Choosing Wisely RBWH team.