At least 45 tests and procedures routinely performed on patients across a range of fields are often unnecessary and may in fact be harmful, a group of leading medical organizations in the United States said Wednesday.
“Many of the things that are routinely done are things that patients have come to expect and doctors have routinely ordered,” said Dr. Christine Cassel, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). “These are not things that should never be done, but they are things that are often overused.”
The tests include brain-imaging scans, which are often given unnecessarily after fainting or headaches, CT scans or antibiotics for chronic sinusitis, and routine cancer screening tests when there are no signs or symptoms of cancer.
Nine specialty physicians groups have compiled a list in their respective fields, titled “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question.” They say this is an endeavor to reduce costs and unnecessary harm while encouraging a deeper conversation between patients and physicians.
The lists were compiled in a report released by the nine groups in conjunction with the Consumers Union, and the AMIB Foundation, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, April 4.
The initiative is part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely Program, which lists on its website the 45 routine tests and procedures in question.
“We support the goal of the Choosing Wisely campaign and hope that it will lead to better shared decision making between patients and their physicians and, ultimately, a reduction in unnecessary or harmful medical procedures,” said Dr. Steven Weinberger from the American College of Physicians.
