Unnecessary Healthcare
Not every mystery has to be solved, and not every problem has to be addressed . That’s hard to get your brain around - Kathryn Gullo
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Too Much Medicine Is Bad for Our Health
The evidence is compelling that we in the developed countries (especially the US) are overtesting for disease, overdiagnosing it, and overtreating. Wasteful medical care of milder or nonexistent problems does more harm than good to the individual patient, diverts scarce medical resources away from those who really need them, and is an unsustainable drain on the economy.
The causes of medical excess are many and powerful. Here is a truncated list:
• With very few exceptions, the early screening and intervention touted by preventive medicine has turned out to be an oversold, dangerous, and expensive flop.
Routine PSA screening for prostate cancer…
Resources
Do You Need That Test?
Many patients will be surprised at the tests and treatments that these expert groups now question. They include, for example, annual electrocardiograms for low-risk patients and routine chest X-rays for ambulatory patients in advance of surgery.
How Can We Curb the Medical-Testing Epidemic?
We are facing an epidemic in this country, a threat to our health caused not by pathogens, environmental toxins or lousy diets but by medical tests. Over the past couple of years, we've learned that two popular tests for cancer—mammograms and the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test for prostate cancer—are less than useless for many people.
Out-Of-Control Physicians: Too Many Doctors Are Doing Too Many Things To Too Many Patients
Today, the best evidence suggests that such preoperative tests and treatments often do more harm than good. (Are you recognizing a theme here yet?).
Overtreatment Is Taking a Harmful Toll
When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe more is better. But an epidemic of overtreatment — too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures — is costing the nation’s health care system at least $210 billion a year, according to the Institute of Medicine, and taking a human toll in pain, emotional suffering, severe complications and even death.
Why Are Medical Mistakes Our Third Leading Cause of Death?
I spend a lot of time going around to different places warning professionals and the public that overdiagnosis, overtesting, and overtreatment are bad for our health.
Considering Bone or Joint Surgery? You May Not Need It
For many common problems of the knee, hip, shoulder, spine and wrist, nonsurgical options may be just as good.
Some medical treatments are pointless. But will patients want to know?
Senior doctors have published a list of 40 procedures that have little to no effect. In the age of health and lifestyle bloggers, it could shatter our illusion of control.
Unnecessary Medical Care: More Common Than You Might Imagine
It's one of the intractable financial boondoggles of the U.S. health care system: Lots and lots of patients get lots and lots of tests and procedures that they don't need. Women still get annual cervical cancer testing even when it's recommended every three to five years for most women. Healthy patients are subjected to slates of unnecessary lab work before elective procedures. Doctors routinely order annual electrocardiograms and other heart tests for people who don't need them.
When routine medical tests trigger a cascade of costly, unnecessary care
Cascades can begin when a test done for a good reason finds something unexpected. After all, good medicine often requires some sleuthing.
Too Much Medicine Is Bad for Our Health
The evidence is compelling that we in the developed countries (especially the US) are overtesting for disease, overdiagnosing it, and overtreating. Wasteful medical care of milder or nonexistent problems does more harm than good to the individual patient, diverts scarce medical resources away from those who really need them, and is an unsustainable drain on the economy.
Choosing Wisely
Choosing Wisely aims to promote conversations between clinicians and patients by helping patients choose care that is: Supported by evidence, Not duplicative of other tests or procedures already received, Free from harm, Truly necessary.
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