Medical Practices that are Overused

WATCH  VIDEO

The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Cardiology are claiming that 45 medical tests and procedures are overused. They are calling for the reduction of these procedures. This is surprising because in medicine, the standard has usually included more tests, not less.

Some of the tests include:

• early imaging for back pain
• brain scans for people who have fainted
• antibiotics for mild sinusitis
• PAP smears on women younger than 21
• chemotherapy for very sick cancer patients

The overall goal is to reduce excessive spending on healthcare without reducing the quality of care. Some of the tests which are regularly given expose patients to radiation, and reducing the number of these could facilitate health overall. Tests and procedures were chosen due to statistics which show a low probability in a treatment's usefulness or success. For instance, many patients with large tumors who have not responded to previous chemotherapy treatments fail to respond to final chemo attempts. Patients at this stage could receive more soothing, end-of-life care.

These are only a few examples. The medical community will face the challenge of balancing probabilities with the care of individuals.