AAAAI Releases Second Choosing Wisely® List

During the 2014 Annual Meeting, the AAAAI released a list of “Five More Things Physicians and Patients Should Question” as part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely initiative. This list focuses on and explains specific tests or procedures that are overused in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies.

What is Choosing Wisely?
The goal of Choosing Wisely is to increase conversation among physicians and patients concerning procedures and tests that have the potential to be used inappropriately. In 2012, the AAAAI was one of nine medical organizations involved in the first round of developing evidence-based recommendations to help patients and physicians start conversations and make wise choices regarding diagnosis and treatment across specialty areas.

What Are the Items on the AAAAI’s New List?
The following are the five recommendations which appear on the AAAAI’s latest list:

• Don’t rely on antihistamines as first line treatment in severe allergic reactions.
• Don’t perform food IgE testing without a history consistent with potential IgE-mediated food allergy.
• Don’t routinely order low- or iso-osmolar radiocontrast media or pretreat with corticosteroids and antihistamines for patients with a history of seafood allergy, who require radiocontrast media.
• Don’t routinely avoid influenza vaccination in egg-allergic patients.
• Don’t overuse non-beta lactam antibiotics in patients with a history of penicillin allergy, without an appropriate evaluation.

Where Can I View the List?
View the AAAAI’s complete Choosing Wisely list with additional details about the recommendations and evidence supporting each item here.

As with its first list, the second AAAAI Choosing Wisely list was developed after months of careful consideration and review, using the most current evidence about management and treatment options.

How Did the AAAAI Announce the List?
To officially roll out its second list, the AAAAI held a press conference during the 2014 Annual Meeting in San Diego. AAAAI members are invited to view the press conference here, which features Immediate Past-President Linda Cox, MD, FAAAAI; Theodore M. Freeman, MD, FAAAAI; David M. Lang, MD, FAAAAI; and John Oppenheimer, MD, FAAAAI.

Media outlets like Medscape, American Journal of Managed Care, and Healio.com published coverage of the AAAAI’s new list.

Where Can I Find More Information on Choosing Wisely?
AAAAI members are invited to visit the Choosing Wisely website. The website has a library of patient-friendly resources that you can use as a way to encourage education and dialogue with patients.

In addition, the AAAAI will soon launch a series of short videos for patients that explain the 10 items that make up the AAAAI’s first and second lists.