Unnecessary health care

Unnecessary Health Care

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Unnecessary health care can lead to negative health outcomes and increased costs.

Unnecessary health care (also known as overuse) refers to medical services that are not necessary for the patient's health, do not improve patient outcomes, or could potentially cause harm. This can include unnecessary diagnostic tests, medical procedures, and prescription drugs. Unnecessary health care is a significant issue in many health care systems worldwide, leading to increased costs and potential harm to patients.

Causes

There are several causes of unnecessary health care, including:

• Defensive medicine: This is when doctors order tests, procedures, or visits, or avoid high-risk patients or procedures, primarily (but not necessarily solely) to reduce their exposure to malpractice liability.
• Supplier induced demand: This occurs when a provider influences a patient's demand for care.
• Moral hazard: This refers to the lack of incentive to guard against risk where one is protected from its consequences.

Impact

Unnecessary health care can lead to a variety of negative outcomes, including:

• Patient harm: Unnecessary procedures or medications can lead to harm, including side effects, complications, and iatrogenesis.
• Health care costs: Unnecessary health care contributes to the high cost of health care systems.
• Health care waste: Unnecessary health care is a form of waste, which is defined as health care spending that can be eliminated without reducing the quality of care.

Solutions

Several strategies can help reduce unnecessary health care, such as:

• Evidence-based medicine: This approach to health care aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making.
• Shared decision making: This is an approach in which clinicians and patients make decisions together using the best available evidence.
• Choosing Wisely: This is an initiative of the ABIM Foundation that promotes patient-physician conversations about unnecessary medical tests and procedures.

See also

• Health care quality
• Medical ethics
• Medical error
• Overdiagnosis
• Overtreatment