Canada's resident physicians suggest avoiding daily blood work, favour oral medications as ways to improve healthcare

Reza Mirza, Resident Physician at McMaster University, and Justin Hall, Resident Physician in Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto point to a CIHI study indicating that up to 30% of healthcare interventions are unnecessary as the basis for making five recommendations they believe could improve services for Canadians. In promoting the Choosing Wisely Canada movement to re-evaluate healthcare, Resident Doctors of Canada listed five things residents and patients should question. These are:

• Only order tests that may affect our patient's care plan;
• Avoid daily blood work in stable patients;
• Choose an oral medication whenever appropriate and tolerated, rather than an IV;
• Use the least invasive option that is appropriate; and
• Arrange for non-urgent tests to be done outside the hospital if patients are well enough to go home.