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Are medical tests the best way to make sense of odd symptoms or to catch unsuspected illnesses? Not always.
Doctors from nine U.S. medical societies are warning patients and fellow physicians that many common medical tests are actually unnecessary - and may do more harm than good. The tests are also driving up the country's already skyrocketing health care costs.
The medical societies, representing 374,000 physicians, launched an initiative called Choosing Wisely, listing a total of 45 procedures that patients should question before having done.
Keep clicking to see 9 common medical procedures that patients should question...
One of the cries from the right-wing is "end junk lawsuits," but it's not entirely clear what this means, as most malpractice lawsuits actually aren't junk lawsuits. The evidence on this is pretty clear: The malpractice problem is on operating tables, not in court rooms. Which isn't to deny that our current system is broken for patients and doctors alike.
Section 6801 of the PPACA encourages states to develop new malpractice systems, which could possibly end these unnecessary medical tests by letting states create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs. This is definitely giving back to the states more control of the malpractice problem, and is certainly not making it more "government-controlled" by the Feds!
Obviously saving $700-800 Billion in a health care debacle costing us $2.6 Trillion per year is not a good thing for doctors gaming the system. I do understand that medical malpractice is a part of this too, but there's also bad doctors since some of them graduated at the bottom of their classes, and they are being protected by their buddies.
Our health care system is completely screwed up, and if the SCOTUS strikes down the PPACA, we just return to MORE OF THE SAME of the for-profit insurance mafia running the show, with higher costs and more denials.