Patient care based on Choosing Wisely

In a bid to minimise harm and reduce the wasting of resources, Ballarat Health Services is launching Choosing Wisely, a global healthcare campaign.

The effort is aimed at promoting high quality, evidence-based care, encouraging conversations about patient care between healthcare professionals and their patients to enable informed choice to be made. After a six-month trial in the Emergency Department the program is expanding hospital wide.

“Good communication is of utmost importance in achieving the best patient outcomes. As with any organisation, there is always room for improvement, and we want to make sure our consumers feel empowered to ask questions and be involved in decisions relating to their care,” says Dr Mark Hartnell, BHS Choosing Wisely Clinical Lead.