Inappropriate use of clinical practices in Canada: a systematic review
Janet E. Squires, Danielle Cho-Young, Laura D. Aloisio, Robert Bell, Stephen Bornstein, Susan Brien, Simon Décary, Melissa Demery Varin, Mark Dobrow, Carole A. Estabrooks, Ian D. Graham, Megan Greenough, Doris Grinspun, Michael Hillmer, Tanya Horsley, Jiale Hu, Alan Katz, Christina M. Krause, John N. Lavis, Wendy Levinson, Adrian R. Levy, Michelina Mancuso, Steve Morgan, Letitia Nadalin‐Penno, Andrew Neuner, Tamara Rader, Wilmer J. Santos, Gary Teare, Joshua Tepper, Amanda Vandyk, Michael G. Wilson, Jeremy Grimshaw
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inappropriate health care leads to negative patient experiences, poor health outcomes and inefficient use of resources. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of inappropriately used clinical practices in Canada. METHODS: We searched multiple bibliometric databases and grey literature to identify inappropriately used clinical practices in Canada between 2007 and 2021. Two team members independently screened citations, extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Findings were synthesized in 2 categories: diagnostics and therapeutics. We reported ranges of proportions of inappropriate use for all practices. Medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs), based on the percentage of patients not receiving recommended practices (underuse) or receiving practices not recommended (overuse), were calculated. All statistics are at the study summary level. RESULTS: = 9). INTERPRETATION: We have provided a summary of inappropriately used clinical practices in Canadian health care systems. Our findings can be used to support health care professionals and quality agencies to improve patient care and safety in Canada.