October 13, 2016
To Screen or Not to Screen: The Risks of Over-Imaging and Testing
Tests to diagnose or monitor aren’t without risks, suggesting a need for further research, physician training and frank doctor-patient conversations.
A recent Neurology study examining two patient cohorts of similar age and ailments revealed a stark diagnostic difference.
Medicare recipients were more than twice as likely to receive “potentially inappropriate” imaging for headaches than those who reported the same symptoms at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities, the study found.
Among neuropathy cases from the same two outpatient groups, both comprised of individuals ages 65 and older, the imaging rate for patients with Medicare was almost three times greater.
Such disparity speaks to a larger debate.
Under which circumstances is a screening — a scan, a blood draw, a biopsy — necessary? Why do procedural divides exist? And when might these procedures cause more harm than good?
As medical technologies become increasingly precise, roadblocks lurk among the gains: Over-imaging in low-risk populations can detect benign abnormalities, return false positives, heighten a patient’s anxiety and waste money.
Follow this link to read the full story on the Michigan Health Lab site, which includes examples from the work of multiple IHPI members.
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