Overtreated: More medical care isn't always better

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100607/ap_on_he_me/us_med_overtreated;_ylt=A0wNdPJMag1M4nMBvBus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFkdjdkYnZxBHBvcwMxMzQEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9oZWFsdGgEc2xrA292ZXJ0cmVhdGVkbQ--

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer – Mon Jun 7, 9:43 am ET

WASHINGTON – More medical care won't necessarily make you healthier — it may make you sicker. It's an idea that technology-loving Americans find hard to believe.

Anywhere from one-fifth to nearly one-third of the tests and treatments we get are estimated to be unnecessary, and avoidable care is costly in more ways than the bill: It may lead to dangerous side effects.

It can start during birth, as some of the nation's increasing C-sections are triggered by controversial fetal monitors that signal a baby is in trouble when really everything's fine.

It extends to often futile intensive care at the end of the life.

In between:

_Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, much of it from repeated CT scans. Too many scans increase the risk of cancer.

_Thousands who get stents for blocked heart arteries should have tried medication first.

_Doctors prescribe antibiotics tens of millions of times for viruses such as colds that the drugs can't help.

_As major health groups warn of the limitations of prostate cancer screening, even in middle age, one-third of men over 75 get routine PSA tests despite guidelines that say most are too old to benefit. Millions of women at low risk of cervical cancer get more frequent Pap smears than recommended; millions more have been screened even after losing the cervix to a hysterectomy.

_Back pain stands out as the No. 1 overtreated condition, from repeated MRI scans that can't pinpoint the trouble to spine surgery on people who could have gotten better without it. About one in five who gets that first back operation will wind up having another in the next decade.

Overtreatment means someone could have fared as well or better with a lesser test or therapy, or maybe even none at all. Avoiding it is less about knowing when to say no, than knowing when to say, "Wait, doc, I need more information!"


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