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Doctor-patient communication may help eliminate duplicative, unnecessary testing
The AAO has cited five tests and treatments that should be discussed to ensure the best patient care options are considered.
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The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced its participation in the Choosing Wisely campaign, a program meant to encourage communication between doctors and patients regarding treatment options and appropriate use of health care funds, according to a press release.
“People are looking very critically at our role in addressing unneeded tests because of the escalating costs of health care. The alternative to the profession addressing marginal testing and procedures is adoption by payers of rather rigid coverage criteria,” William L. Rich III, MD, AAO medical director of health policy, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News.
Choosing Wisely fosters better management of health care resources and aims to support physicians’ efforts to use only necessary, evidence-based medicine to meet the needs of their patients. There are 25 specialty societies that have partnered with this campaign, including AARP and Consumer Union.
“Consumer Union has a very strict analysis of the data before they put anything out there,” Rich said. “There are other people who are interested in sending this along to their constituents, especially AARP.”
The AAO cited five common tests and treatments that doctors and patients should discuss to make certain the best options for patient care are considered. These include preoperative medical tests, imaging tests, antibiotics for pink eye, antibiotics for eye injections and punctal plugs for dry eye.
“Some experts estimate that up to 30% of health care delivered in the U.S. may be unnecessary or duplicative,” David W. Parke II, MD, AAO executive vice president and CEO, said in the release. “Not only does this represent significant waste, but it also underscores patients’ unnecessary exposure to risks associated with any test or procedure.”
The AAO’s collaboration in the campaign is one element of its continuous efforts to incorporate responsible use of health care funds while maintaining quality of care, according to the release.
“In medicine, more isn’t necessarily better,” Rich said in the release. “Conversations around the five tests and treatments identified by the AAO can reduce the potential for over-treating our patients. We will continue our work to identify treatments that could benefit from better conversations between ophthalmologists and their patients.”
Rich said doctor-patient communication is important, emphasizing that any test orders should be discussed thoroughly, and patients should feel comfortable when addressing concerns with their doctors. - by Christi Fox