Table 2.
Level of evidence of low-value care measures
| Level of evidence | Group A: Recommendation source | Measure numbersa | Count |
| 1 | CW, NICE or USPSTF recommendations; Guideline; Literature evidence (review or clinical trial) |
39, 40, 46 | 3 |
| 2 | CW, NICE or USPSTF recommendations; Literature evidence (review or clinical trial) |
13, 14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 44, 48, 50, 55, 77, 80, 90, 95, 103, 112, 115 | 20 |
| 2 | CW, NICE or USPSTF recommendations; Guideline |
33, 53 | 2 |
| 2 | Literature evidence (reviews or clinical trial) | 3, 21, 58, 76, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89 | 10 |
| 2 | Guideline | 54, 57 | 2 |
| 3 | USPSTF concludes that evidence is insufficient | 101 | 1 |
| Unknown | Literature: other compiled low-value service lists | 47, 49, 113 | 3 |
| Unknown | USPSTF recommendation not found | 104, 107 | 2 |
| Unknown | CW, NICE or USPSTF recommendations | 34, 38, 43, 45, 51, 52, 59, 61, 84, 92, 98, 102, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 111, 114 | 19 |
| Level of evidence | Group B: Institutional measure status | Measure numbersa | |
| 1 | NQF endorsed | 5, 11, 16, 18, 41, 56, 62–67, 72, 73, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97 | 19 |
| 2 | AHRQ measure supported by a clinical practice guideline or other peer-reviewed synthesis of clinical research evidence and one or more research studies published in a National Library of Medicine (NLM) indexed, peer-reviewed journal | 60, 69, 70 | 3 |
| 2 | AHRQ measure supported by a clinical practice guideline or other peer-reviewed synthesis of the clinical research evidence | 1, 4, 55, 86 | 4 |
| 2 | CMS QualityNet | 2, 7, 8, 9, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 42, 99, 100 | 14 |
| 3 | NQF endorsement removed since April 2014 | 6, 10, 74, 75 | 4 |
| Unknown | NQF endorsement not found | 17, 71 | 2 |
| Unknown | AHRQ measure/guideline not found | 68, 79, 87 | 3 |
| Unknown | CMS QualityNet under revision | 15 | 1 |
| Unknown | CMS not found | 12 | 1 |
| Unknown | BCBS AQC measures not found | 35, 36 | 2 |
AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, BCBS AQC Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Alternative Quality Contract, CMS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CW Choosing Wisely, IOM Institute of Medicine, NICE National Institute for Clinical Excellence (UK): do not do recommendations, NQF National Quality Forum, USPSTF United States Preventive Services Task Force
a: measure numbers are in correspondence with Additional file 2