Five Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Antibiotics (large posters, for children)

Campaign Series: Choosing Wisely Medical Category: Drugs Article Type: Cards and Posters Language: Plain English, Spanish Format: PDF Most recent update: 02/26/2014 Use these five questions to talk to your doctor about when you need antibiotics -- and when you don’t. Antibiotics can help prevent or treat some infections. But if you use them for the wrong reason, they may cause…

ByChristine AustinJune 29, 20230Comments

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Hazards in vitamins and supplements

In a new report in its September issue and online at www.ConsumerReports.org, Consumer Reports identifies ten hazards that might surprise the large swath of American adults-more than 50 percent-who take vitamins, herbs, or other nutritional supplements. “Patients sometimes assume that supplements are safe because they are ‘all natural,’ but not all supplements are truly natural. In fact, one of the greatest safety…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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How to do more, for less

Despite decades of medical advances, there’s a huge disconnect between what medical science knows how to do, and what America’s overly complex health care system actually delivers, according to a new report commissioned by the Institute of Medicine. The way we teach, deploy and reward doctors just isn’t keeping up with new knowledge, the authors say.…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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They didn’t cover this in Econ 101

If you’ve ever felt a twinge of guilt for not asking about the price of medical care beforehand, don’t worry about it. Because apparently many hospitals don’t know the price either. The latest news on that front: Researchers who asked hundreds of hospitals about the price for a common elective procedure, a total hip replacement, found that getting…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Three times as many procedures to question

In an important expansion of the Choosing Wisely campaign, medical specialty groups have released new lists of overused tests and treatments that patients and doctors should question. This brings to 135 the number of procedures that doctors have flagged as often used inappropriately to diagnose or treat common medical conditions. The intent is to promote discussions…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Choosing Wisely campaigners recognized as Health Policy Heroes

Consumer Reports is proud to be one of three groups being honored as 2013 Health Policy Heroes — for their contributions to the Choosing Wisely campaign — by the National Research Center for Women and Families. The award honors men and women, and organizations, that have helped to improve the lives of adults and children nationwide by supporting…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Share this video: More is not always better

One theme underlying Choosing Wisely and similar campaigns is not necessarily obvious to the audience: Some tests and treatments are wasteful, useless and even harmful. That’s not an easy message to deliver to patients and their families. They have come to expect whole arrays of procedures to help diagnose and treat a disease. Yet doctors have identified dozens of…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Was that care appropriate? Share your story!

With so much of our healthcare spending — an estimated 30 percent — going toward needless tests and treatment, Consumer Reports has stepped up its efforts to highlight both the most effective health choices and to promote awareness of inappropriate procedures. We help you find the safest, most effective drugs and help you focus on the…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Our new video: Talking points

Want to quiz your doctor about that test, diagnosis or treatment? How can you squeeze your questions into an already rushed appointment? We know it’s not easy. So here’s our newest Choosing Wisely video, Talking With Your Doctor, with tips from doctors themselves on how to get the answers you need. The video features our popular poster, five questions…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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Missed the patient expo? We took notes!

Ever had one of those meetings that was so successful that you wanted to share it with everyone? It happened to us, when we teamed up with the American College of Physicians in San Francisco for a public presentation: “Your Health: Fact Not Fiction.” Hundreds of consumers and patients were there for the Patient Empowerment Expo, peppering…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20230Comments

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