Stories
More Care is Not Always Better
We have created hundreds of brochures and posters as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign. Learn when and how to avoid needless (and even risky) tests and treatments.
News and Notes
5 Ways to Celebrate a Birthday
The Choosing Wisely campaign turns 5 today, and we’re doing all we can to celebrate smart conversations between patients and providers: 1. Seeking Choosing Wisely patient champions. 2. Publishing stories from healthcare providers. 3. Releasing a new video. 4. Tweeting about …
Taking the antibiotics message to a global stage
Consumers worldwide need to be alerted to, and protected from, the public-health crisis of antibiotic resistance. That’s the message Consumer Reports President Marta Tellado delivered to a landmark meeting of United Nations delegates today in New York. In the U.S. alone, …
Choosing Wisely, still growing, turns 4
Dr. Eric Barbanel, an internist in Middletown, N.Y., is determined to have his patients and their families understand that much of the care they’re used to receiving — including care that he used to deliver himself — turns out to …
Choosing Wisely focuses on antibiotics misuse
The effort to preserve antibiotics just got a big boost. With Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funding, the Choosing Wisely campaign is backing seven regional efforts that include reining in misuse of these precious life-saving drugs. The seven initiatives will each …
Consumer Reports targets superbugs
Unrestrained use of antibiotics, in humans and animals, has bred “superbugs” that are resistant to antibiotics and has triggered infections that sicken at least 2.25 million Americans each year and kill 37,000. To combat that problem, Consumer Reports has announced …
Too much testing can be harmful to your health
A CT scan could be lifesaving. But recent research suggests that roughly a third of them serve little if any medical purpose. That’s a lot of needless radiation, raising patients’ risk of getting cancer. Consumer Reports has put together this …
New grant supports next phase of Choosing Wisely campaign
The Choosing Wisely campaign, which focuses on reducing the use of unnecessary medical tests and treatments, will extend its reach among health-care providers and regional health organizations, thanks to a new $4.2-million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to …
Choosing Wisely near the end of life
Serious illness, especially in an older person, demands tough choices from patients, their families and their health-care providers. What’s more, it’s often difficult for people to find solid information and advice about those choices and their implications. Thankfully, increased attention …
Some Americans take risks with needed drugs due to high costs
Our national poll of more than 1,000 Americans shows many skeptical about generics Ginger Skinner, Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Americans take a lot of medicine. More than 4 in 10 (44 percent) regularly take a prescription drug, and among …
Patients and doctors, on the same page
Imagine that, when you got home from the doctor’s office, there was an email waiting for you, with the notes your doctor had just taken during your visit. You’d be able to read them, make sure your doctor had understood you, …
Topics in Depth
Each of these collections of videos, brochures, posters and articles focuses on an issue of particular importance to healthcare consumers.