With access to countless diagnostics, are we testing more than necessary? What is driving this and how do we strike a right balance between thoroughness and over investigation?
Yes, overtesting is rising, driven by defensive medicine, patient expectations, and easy access. Balancing requires evidence-based guidelines, shared decision-making, clinical judgment, and awareness of harms from unnecessary tests.
A balanced approach is required. Defensive Medicine has become the norm because of potential risk of litigation, especially in the Western world. However , still we must follow the basic ethics of the practice of medicine:
Keep patient’s interest above all.
First , do no harm (Primum non nocere)
Good communication with the patient- so even if you’re not doing a procedure at some point, you can explain the logic of the approach of to his / her treatment. That way, patient will be part of the decision-making.
#ethics