Are We being Overtested,Overdiagnosed and Overtreated?

Go to any hospital,nursing home,diagnostic centre or chemist shop;chances are,you will find a jostling crowd there.Is it population explosion or disease explosion?Point to ponder.

In the years decades gone by,people used to ignore minor hiccups in their body systems.If the problem persisted they would first try home remedies and then go to a doctor.The doctor also relied on clinical diagnosis rather than ordering a battery of tests.

Today everything has changed--the patients as well as the doctors.The average person today is better informed about various diseases and their outcomes.An ever-active media has ensured this.There is a kind of disease phobia in many of us.We rush to the doctor at the first hint of a cold because we are afraid it might be Swine Flu, which has already claimed many lives.This fear even spurs us to request the doctor to carry out some tests even if he did not find it necessary to do so in the first place.

We all have a fear of disease but in some it is so pronounced that they exaggerate their complaints significantly while consulting a doctor.As a result they are saddled with stronger and more medicines than they need.They also end up getting more investigations done on their bodies.

Some,who have health insurance,voluntarily ask for excessive healthcare.This gives only marginal benefits and can even be harmful.

Advanced diagnostic tools like CT scans,MRIs and ultrasounds have made it easy for the doctor to nail down the cause of the patient's distress but excessive use of these tests can be harmful.CT scans expose patients to radiation which is a known cause of cancer.More testing also means more false positives,more unnecessary invasive procedure,more patient stress and higher costs. 

Indeed,according to  Medical Daily :--  

 Unnecessary tests and treatments, while they may appear helpful, are often nothing but money-makers for the hospital and increase a patient’s anxiety (after which anxiety is treated with more pills — a vicious cycle).

Obviously,medical malpractice can generate paranoia about a disease and cause untold harm to a family's emotional and financial status.A news report in The Times of India revealed an alarming trend in private hospitals--that of giving false adverse reports in the hope of getting "more business like further tests,procedures,or even surgeries and prolonged treatment."According to this news item an officer was advised angioplasty following a treadmill test at a private hospital.He went to the A.I.I.M.S for a second opinion and there he was told that there was no need for angioplasty,nor any cause for worry.

I certainly don't mean to imply that the whole fraternity is manipulative or dishonest but since such things are happening,it is up to us to be vigilant and avoid being taken for a ride.

• Firstly learn to ignore petty problems.The Body Knows How To Heal Itself.
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle incorporating exercise,nourishing diet and a good work-life balance.
• If any ailment like headache,back pain,spondylitis,joint pain, allergy,dyspepsia or I,B,S,presents itself off and on;determine what sets it off and avoid it in future.For example many pains can be cured by simply correcting the posture or exercising, and a delicate digestive system can stabilize with proper diet.
• Don't dramatize your symptoms when you consult a doctor.
• Take a check list along with you when you visit a doctor so that you can better explain your condition.
• Do not hesitate to ask the doctor about the adverse effects of any medicine or procedure he may have prescribed.
• Keep yourself informed about your disease.
• It is better to start a new medicine in the morning so that ready help is available in case of an adverse reaction.
• When in doubt,or if advised an expensive/invasive investigation;go for a second opinion.

Just as I was winding up this piece I read a heartening news in The Times of India,Jaipur edition dated May 18.It says that the Society for Less Investigative Medicine (SLIM ) will prepare a list of the investigations which ought not to be done in normal circumstances.This is a very good start,hope it goes far.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Doctors-across-India-join-hands-to-stop-practice-of-unwanted-tests/articleshow/47313607.cms