First do no harm: A guide to choosing wisely in general practice, is a new evidence-based resource from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners that focuses on reducing patient harm and avoiding low value care.
It provides GPs with QR codes linking to patient-facing information, allowing GPs to talk through tests and treatments with patients as they access complementary resources. There is information for both GPs and patients on:
- overused tests
- over-diagnosed and over-treated conditions
- interventions with insufficient evidence.
Importantly, First do no harm is designed to enable positive and constructive conversations between GPs and patients, providing information and tools to assist in shared decision making. First do no harm will help empower patients to make informed and balanced decisions about their health, including information they should consider asking their GP.
Launching with five initial topics, First do no harm is a ‘living resource’ that will be updated with new topics and guidance to aid communication and shared decision making.