Sunnybrook awarded Level 3 designation by Choosing Wisely Canada

Sunnybrook has become the first hospital in Canada to achieve the Level 3 designation from Choosing Wisely Canada for its work in reducing unnecessary tests and treatments, the highest designation a hospital can attain.

“Sunnybrook has achieved this prestigious designation with a lot of hard work and a deep commitment to making changes through organizational leadership, teamwork, culture change and mentorship,” says Dr. Adina Weinerman, Medical Director, Quality & Patient Safety and chair of Sunnybrook’s Choosing Wisely committee.

Choosing Wisely Canada helps clinicians and patients engage in conversations about unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures. The Level 3 designation is awarded to hospitals that have implemented at least 10 Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations, and who have demonstrated their deep commitment through organizational leadership, culture change and mentorship.

These recommendations include:

• Making Choosing Wisely part of the hospital’s operating/strategic plan
• Implementing at least 10 distinct Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations across multiple hospital departments
• Mentoring or collaborating with at least one other hospital on Choosing Wisely

Below are a few examples of how Sunnybrook has made changes, small or large, to reduce overuse:

Lose the tube
A toolkit for appropriate use of urinary catheters in hospitals. Sunnybrook was the first hospital in Canada to reduce inappropriate catheterization by 50% using the approach in this toolkit.

Why give two when one will do
Sunnybrook reduced unnecessary red blood cell transfusion rates by 31% using the approach in this toolkit.