An Australian survey released last week has found a large majority of people report they’ve never been told by doctors about the danger of being overdiagnosed. An equally large majority say they want to be informed.
This is the first time anywhere in the world the general community has been asked about their knowledge and views on the “modern epidemic“ of overdiagnosis, which happens when someone is diagnosed with a disease that won’t actually harm them. Being overdiagnosed means you’re likely to be over-treated and potentially suffer the harms of that treatment without getting any benefits.
