Expanded list of questionable tests, treatments announced by medical consortium

A campaign to curb unnecessary and possibly harmful medical procedures has added 90 recommendations from 17 medical specialty societies.

The nonprofit ABIM Foundation, part of the American Board of Internal Medicine, expanded its “Choosing Wisely” initiative and released an updated list of procedures “commonly ordered, but which are not always necessary — and could cause undue harm.”

Each medical society selected five specific, common tests or procedures whose use should be questioned, according to an ABIM Foundation press release.

“Millions of Americans are increasingly realizing that when it comes to health care, more is not necessarily better,” said Christine K. Cassel, MD, president and CEO of the ABIM Foundation. “Through these lists of tests and procedures, we hope to encourage conversations between physicians and patients about what care they truly need.”

Among the recommendations announced on Feb. 21 are:

Don’t perform routine annual Pap tests in women aged 30 to 65 years
Don’t automatically use CT scans to evaluate children’s minor head injuries
Don’t perform electroencephalography on patients with recurrent headaches
Don’t routinely treat acid reflux in infants with acid suppression therapy

Each recommendation was developed by individual specialty societies, according to the press release, and is based on “the most current evidence about management and treatment options.”

The foundation’s list now totals 130 procedures, including an initial list of recommendations issued in April 2012.