Seventeen leading medical specialty societies have identified specific tests, procedures or medication therapies they say are commonly ordered, but which are not always necessary—and could cause undue harm. To date, more than 130 tests and procedures to question have been released as part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely® campaign, which aims to spark conversations between patients and physicians about what care is really necessary.

Patients and their caregivers are uniquely positioned to recognize inefficiency in the healthcare system but are seldom empowered with information they need to reduce harmful spending. With the help of New England Journal of Medicine Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Drazen, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, former White House advisor and bioethicist Zeke Emanuel, and New York Times columnist and surgeon Pauline Chen, Costs of Care (www.CostsOfCare.org) launched an innovative essay contest this fall aimed at elucidating both the challenges and opportunities to save patients’ money with routine, cost- conscious medical decisions.

By Susan Carr

Nothing has changed; but in health care, everything has changed. — Former Senate Majority Leader William Frist, MD

Though he did not attend the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI’s) National Forum last week in Orlando, Senator Frist’s words served as its chorus. Frist’s observation came during a meeting hosted by IHI in Washington, DC, two days after the national election in November. The meeting, titled “Out of the Blocks,” was scheduled to assess the effect of the election—however it turned out—on the Affordable Care Act and, therefore, also on the U.S. healthcare industry.

America’s health care system has become too complex and costly to continue business as usual, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Inefficiencies, an overwhelming amount of data, and other economic and quality barriers hinder progress in improving health and threaten the nation’s economic stability and global competitiveness, the report says.

The Tennessee Center for Patient Safety (TCPS) of the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) and the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (TnACS) has received a $3,984,700 grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation to extend the Tennessee Surgical Quality Collaborative (TSQC) through 2014.

By Susan Carr

Outcome Engenuity and the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) are offering information and a free toolkit for an intervention designed to reduce the rate of mislabeled blood specimens in hospitals. The process, The Final Check, is designed to be simple enough to be done reliably every time a specimen is collected.

Four U.S. hospitals were recognized recently for their leadership and innovation in quality improvement and safety.