Perhaps it’s not surprising that Christine Cassel, MD, pioneered the program called Choosing Wisely. Earning an undergraduate degree in philosophy at the University of Chicago seems like a good foundation for such an ultimate pursuit. In between she earned a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts, followed by internship and residency at the University of California San Francisco. Today Dr. Cassel is president and CEO of the Washington, DC-based National Quality Forum (NQF), a public service organization that reviews, endorses and recommends use of standardized healthcare performance measures. Previously Dr. Cassel served as president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation, where she helped launch Choosing Wisely, which aims to reduce unnecessary medical tests and procedures via physician/patient discussion. A leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics and quality of care, Dr. Cassel is one of 20 scientists chosen by President Obama to serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, was a founding member of the Commonwealth Fund’s Commission on a High Performance Health System, and served on the IOM committees that wrote the influential reports “To Err is Human” and “Crossing the Quality Chasm.” Wise choices indeed.