FRIDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new initiative announced this week at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP), held from April 22 to 24 in Toronto, will provide physicians and patients with evidence-based recommendations about the benefits, harms, and costs of diagnostic tests and treatments across a wide range of medical conditions. The object is to help physicians and patients determine whether the tests and treatments provide good value.
The "High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care Initiative" will include the development of "ACP's High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care Recommendations" by the Clinical Efficacy Assessment Technical Advisory Committee, which will be submitted to the Annals of Internal Medicine for review and consideration for publication. The focus will be on common medical conditions such as low back pain that often consume resources inappropriately.
The next edition of ACP's Medical Self-Assessment Program also will address optimal diagnostic and treatment strategies, based upon considerations of value, avoidance of overuse and misuse, and effectiveness. Future phases of this initiative may include educational materials for patients and curricula for medical students and residents.
"Shared decision-making between physicians and patients is an integral part of high-value, cost-conscious care," Steven Weinberger, M.D., the ACP's deputy executive vice president and senior vice president of Medical Education and Publishing, said in a statement. "'ACP's High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care Recommendations' will provide evidence about which evaluation and management strategies work best for individual patients."
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