FRIDAY, Jan. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to improve health care and eliminate wasteful practices, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has developed a series of High Value Care cases studies, available online for free.
With health care expenditures projected to reach almost 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product by 2020, the ACP has produced a series of interactive High Value Care case studies to help clinicians understand the benefits, harms, and costs of tests and treatment options for common clinical issues.
Five topics are included in the cases studies: (1) avoiding unnecessary testing; (2) judicious use of emergency and hospital care; (3) improving outcomes via health promotion and disease prevention; (4) safe and cost-effective prescribing; and (5) overcoming barriers to high value care. Each topic, presented in the format of an interactive case study, can be completed in 30 to 60 minutes on desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. The case studies enable physicians to earn continuing medical education credits and American Board of Internal Medicine Medical Knowledge points.
"Practicing physicians receive little training about how to incorporate High Value Care principles into their practice," Cynthia D. Smith, M.D., the ACP's senior physician educator, said in a statement. "Doctors and other health care professionals can use these case studies to learn how to balance the clinical benefits of diagnostic and treatment options with harms and costs with the goal of improving patient outcomes."
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