Addressing Low-Value Care: Training the Spotlight on Children!

Abstract

* Abbreviation: RHIC — : regional health improvement collaborative The study “Differences in Receipt of Low-Value Services Between Publicly and Privately Insured Children” in this issue of Pediatrics provides valuable new information on the topic of low-value care in pediatrics with actionable information for policy makers and improvement efforts.1 Low-value care is costly to the health care system and to individuals and their families, with estimated annual costs of $75 to $101 billion.2 Beyond the unnecessary financial costs to the system, low-value care can cause harm and as such is an important dimension of patient safety. In the past 5 years, several initiatives have actively addressed low-value care, the most notable of which is the Choosing Wisely campaign, launched by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation in 2012.3 This campaign has national and international influence in encouraging medical specialties to identify and combat low-value services. Since 2012, >70 medical specialty societies have published >550 recommendations about overused tests and treatments that clinicians and patients should avoid. The American Academy of Pediatrics published their list of 10 low-value services … Address correspondence to Lisa A. Simpson, MB, BCh, MPH, FAAP, AcademyHealth, 1666 K St NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006. E-mail: lisa.simpson{at}academyhealth.org