Stethoscope and dollars Despite the wide reach of the Choosing Wisely campaign and its success at raising awareness, progress in reducing low-value care use and spending has been modest at best. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Although discussions about reducing health care costs often focus on high-value care, so-called low-value care may be overlooked. However, low-value care, which is defined as services that provide no or minimal benefit to patients in specific clinical situations, costs an estimated $76 billion to $101 billion annually in the United States.

In 2012, the physician-led Choosing Wisely campaign began to encourage awareness, measurement, physician accountability and intervention around this problem. Nine years later, the U.S. Choosing Wisely compendium of recommendations for tests and treatments to avoid has grown from 45 to more than 600. But despite the wide reach of the Choosing Wisely campaign and its success at raising awareness, progress in reducing low-value care use and spending has been modest at best.

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