A customized, team-based strategy significantly reduced unnecessary pre-operative testing for common elective surgeries, according to a new study led by researchers at Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine.  The intervention, called Right-Sizing Testing Before Elective Surgery, or RITE-Size, was piloted at three hospitals. It focused on reducing low-value testing for patients undergoing gallbladder removal, hernia repair or breast lump removal, which are considered low-risk procedures for healthy individuals. 

At the start of the study, 68% of healthy patients received at least one unnecessary test — such as an electrocardiogram or a basic metabolic panel — before surgery. After six months of implementing RITE-Size, that rate dropped to 40%. One hospital nearly eliminated unnecessary testing

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