Overtesting has been a concern since the early 90's, or maybe earlier. I'm surprised no one has howled "rationing" yet over this.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/GeneralProfessionalIssues/32028Number one on the American College of Radiology's (ACR) list, for example, was imaging studies for uncomplicated headache. In patients without "specific risk factors for structural disease," the group said, such testing was unlikely to alter management or increase the chances of treatment success.
The top item for the American College of Physicians (ACP) was routine screening of low-risk, healthy-seeming people with exercise ECG tests. "In asymptomatic individuals at low risk for coronary heart disease (10-year risk <10%), screening for coronary heart disease with exercise electrocardiography does not improve patient outcomes," the group indicated.
The first questionable tests or treatment listed by the seven other groups were as follows:
AAAAI: IgG testing and indiscriminate IgE batteries for diagnosing allergies
AAFP: imaging for low back pain during the first six weeks in the absence of "red flags" indicating neurological involvement
ACC: stress cardiac imaging or other advanced noninvasive imaging in asymptomatic patients or those at low risk for coronary disease
AGA: long-term acid suppression for gastroesophageal reflux disease without attempting dosage reductions
ASCO: Cancer-directed therapies for solid tumor cancers in very ill, poor-prognosis patients
ASN: Routine cancer screening in patients on chronic dialysis with limited life expectancies and without specific symptoms suggestive of cancer
ASNC: Stress cardiac imaging and coronary angiography in asymptomatic or low-risk patients
