The 2025 Choosing Wisely International Roundtable was held in Florence at the Spedale degli Innocenti on October 21 and 22, thanks to the collaboration between Choosing Wisely Canada, Slow Medicine ETS/Choosing Wisely Italy, and the Tuscany Regional Health Agency. It also enjoyed the support of the professional societies Italian Association of Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition – ADI, Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists – AIGO, National Association of Nurses for the Prevention of Hospital Infections – ANIPIO, Italian Federation of Associations of Hospital Internal Medicine – FADOI, and Italian Society for Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine – SIPMeL, which participated in the meeting, as well as the National Federation of Medical Doctors’ and Dentists’ Orders – FNOMCeO.
This was the annual meeting of the Choosing Wisely International network, attended by delegates from 20 countries: Italy and Canada, as well as Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, and the USA, and representatives of the OECD.
Choosing Wisely International is leading the transformation of healthcare worldwide, committing to reducing unnecessary and harmful care, promoting responsible use of resources, and improving outcomes for patients, communities, and the planet.
The meeting’s topics proved to be of great interest, particularly the role of healthcare professionals in addressing climate change, with the “Climate Conscious” recommendations from Choosing Wisely Canada and the “Green” recommendations from Choosing Wisely Italy.
The Handbook for greener Healthcare Services, developed in Bergamo, was also presented.
Elina Suzuki of the OECD presented the very recent document “Decarbonizing Health Systems Across OECD Countries,” which she co-authored. The document emphasizes, among other things, the importance of reducing healthcare system emissions by reducing low-value care (a win-win-win choice) and cites the Choosing Wisely campaigns. Her presentation, along with Niek Klazinga of the OECD too, also addressed the topic of measuring low-value practices.
Another important topic was the techniques and experiences of de-implementing unnecessary practices, i.e., applying the Choosing Wisely recommendations. The workshops were supported by Jeremy Grimshaw of Canada, author of the de-implementation framework. The de-implementation experience underway in the Tuscany Region through the Regional Health Agency project, which has already produced interesting results, was presented.
Wendy Levinson, chair of Choosing Wisely Canada and International, presented a document outlining the future of Choosing Wisely International, including a role in training professionals worldwide and supporting all countries in de-implementing unnecessary practices.
The support of an international network appears essential to encourage doctors and patients to “choose wisely” for truly necessary and useful diagnostic tests and treatments, avoiding those that are superfluous or even harmful. The development of Value-Based Medicine could benefit citizens’ health, the sustainability of healthcare systems, and the environment.
The campaign DOING MORE DOES NOT MEAN DOING BETTER – CHOOSING WISELY ITALY is promoted by Italy’s Slow Medicine
Recent Comments