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056 Deimplementation of low value care in endocrinology: a qualitative study

ebmed · 2025-09-02 · canonical JSON source

3 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Low-value care (LVC) includes practices that have been shown to be ineffective, inefficient or cause harm. Reducing LVC is essential to improve population health, minimize harm to patients, and reduce unnecessary costs in healthcare and public health. At the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires, we recently reached an institutional agreement to reduce LVC in Endocrinology, including thyroid ultrasound for thyroid cancer screening, which leads to false positives and overdiagnosis. The incidence of thyroid cancer in women at our institution is 35 per 100.000 persons per year, which almost doubles the incidence in the United States (19.8 pero 100.000 persons per year).As part of a bigger deimplementaion project to reduce LVC practices at our institution, this study aimed to explore the physicians and patients’ perspectives, beliefs and attitudes that influence their prescription.We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with patients and physicians including Family Medicine, Endocrinology, Nutrition, Gynecology and Dermatology. Two independent reviewers analysed the results using thematic analysis, and a third reviewer helped to settle disagreements when needed.We interviewed 29 physicians and 20 patients. Barriers to de-implementation included lack of time in consultations, lack of institutional agreement or clinical practice guidelines and the influence of the media. There was also a concern that patients would think they were getting ‘less care’ or that the hospital was only trying to reduce costs. Facilitators included having an institutional agreement, a common clinical practice guideline, continuing professional development, reminders in the electronic health record, nudging strategies (such as rewarding appropriate prescribing) and a good physician-patient relationship.With this information we designed different strategies (a clinical practice guideline, clinical decision support systems in the electronic health record, physicians’ training, patient communication) that we are currently implementing and evaluating.