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Researchers try to measure healthcare overuse
01.25.2012
Overuse of the healthcare system is a major problem, with some estimates suggesting that 30 percent of all medical spending goes to pay for unnecessary procedures.Despite the scale of the problem, it remains relatively uninvestigated, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers said that understanding the problem more fully will be the key to solving it in the future.
Overuse of the healthcare system may include anything from taking unnecessary prescriptions to undergoing procedures that have little proven benefit. While some studies have tried to gauge the prevalence of these issues, few have been able to deliver concrete answers, according to the new investigation.
For the study, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine examined findings from previous investigations on the topic of overuse. In total, they looked at 172 different articles.
What the team found was little agreement on how pervasive overuse of the healthcare system is and how much it likely costs. In some cases, doctors are being smarter about prescribing treatments. For example, the number of patients undergoing a form of cardiovascular surgery to remove plaque from the carotid artery decreased over time. However, many physicians appear to persist at unnecessarily prescribing antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.
Overall, the lack of concrete data is what concerned the researchers the most. While most experts would agree that overuse is a major problem, it will be difficult to solve the issue without a firm measure of its depth.
"Expanding the evidence base and establishing appropriateness criteria for a broader range of services could help target and eliminate overuse in healthcare services, which could reduce healthcare spending without adversely affecting the health of the public," the team wrote.
Categories: Physician Recruitment
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