Primary Care

AAFP Releases 5 New Practices to Avoid

As part of its Choosing Wisely campaign, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has added 5 more practices to its list of Things Physicians and Patients Should Question.

 

The ongoing list, comprised of 5 items, was released in April 2012 and updated in February 2013 (items 6-10) and September 2013 (items 11-15). The new items were added August 8, 2018 (items 16-20).

 

IF YOU LIKE THIS, READ MORE...

ACP and AAFP Release New Hypertension Guidelines

USPSTF Updates Nontraditional CVD Risk Factor Recommendations

 

 

“Three [of the newly released] recommendations were derived from AAFP Preventive Services Recommendations and 2 were based on other medical societies’ Choosing Wisely recommendations,” they wrote.

 

The new list items include:

  • Pelvic exams should not be performed on asymptomatic, nonpregnant women unless necessary for guideline-appropriate screening for cervical cancer.
  • Daily home glucose monitoring should not be routinely recommended for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus not using insulin.
  • Do not screen for genital herpes simplex virus infection in asymptomatic adults.
  • Do not screen for testicular cancer in asymptomatic adolescents and adults.
  • Don’t transfuse more than the minimum of red blood cell units necessary to relieve symptoms of anemia or to return a patient to a safe hemoglobin range (7 to 8 g/dL in stable patients).

The full list of recommendations, as well as descriptions accompanying each item, are available at the Choosing Wisely website.

 

—Michael Potts

 

Reference:

American Academy of Family Physicians. Twenty things physicians and patients should question. http://www.choosingwisely.org/societies/american-academy-of-family-physicians/. Published April 4, 2012. Updated August 8, 2018. Accessed August 13, 2018.