Patients in Canada may soon be getting fewer medical tests and procedures, and the chair of the department of medicine at the University of Toronto says that’s not such a bad thing.

Dr. Wendy Levinson is spearheading a national “Choosing Wisely” campaign aimed at rooting out “unnecessary” tests and treatments, some of which she warned may do more harm than good.

“For many years, both physicians and patients have had a ‘more is better’ attitude. It is time to adopt a ‘think twice’ attitude and to avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful tests, procedures and treatment,” she wrote in a commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, published Tuesday.

In an interview, Levinson explained how more than two dozen Canadian specialist societies are in the process of coming up with lists of “things physicians and patients should question.” Lists from eight medical specialties — including general surgery, radiology and cardiology — will be released in April.

“Physicians are not saying, ‘Never order these tests.’ They are saying these are things physicians and patients should question but not automatically order them,” she said.

Asked about the harm patients may be exposed to, Levinson said an unnecessary test could yield a false positive result, which could necessitate further testing, for example, a biopsy. Not only is a biopsy invasive, but the patient involved would be exposed to unnecessary anxiety, she said.

An unnecessary treatment might be a prescription for a drug, Levinson noted. Drugs come with side effects and not all patients have insurance to cover the cost.

Then there is unnecessary exposure to radiation. A 2012 article in the online health policy magazine HealthyDebate.ca noted that doctors are becoming more concerned about the long-term effects of radiation from CT scans.

The Choosing Wisely campaign is modelled after a U.S. initiative of the same name launched two years ago. Sixty medical specialty groups south of the border are participating, many of which have released lists of five tests, treatments and procedures that must be used more judiciously.

The U.S. campaign was started by the American Medical Board of Internal Medicine Foundation. Levinson is a member of its board of trustees and contributed to the initiative.

She said the Canadian think-twice lists will likely include some of the same tests seen on the American lists and all suggestions will be backed up with scientific evidence.

One U.S. example is a suggestion by the American College of Physicians to think twice about ordering brain imaging — for example, MRIs or CT scans — for “simple syncope” or blacking out if there are no neurological symptoms. That’s because evidence shows there is little likelihood this would have anything to do with the central nervous system.

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Dr. Richard Reznick, dean of the faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University, said money saved from unnecessary tests could be used to fund more pressing health-care needs.

“If we could divert a billion dollars from blood tests that might not be all that helpful to . . . the production of more psychiatrists or the building of new long-term care facilities, then it is our responsibility as health-care providers to play central roles in finding those savings,” he said.