A poll conducted in the USA found that almost half of physicians feel that their patients are receiving too much healthcare in comparison to only six per cent who think that there is too little healthcare.
The survey of 627 physicians also discovered that the USA spends $2608 more per capita than Norway, the country with the second highest level of healthcare spending. Doctors have cited a variety of reasons for over-treating patients including fear of malpractice lawsuits and too little time available to really listen to their patients.
Forty per cent of those surveyed thought that other doctors may send for more tests in order to boost the income, but over-testing can lead to diagnosis and treatment of ailments which would not have caused a problem, such as slightly high blood pressure and slow developing prostate cancer. The authors of the study from the VA Medical Center, Vermont, went on to state that “unnecessary care is potentially harmful” due to the exposure to unnecessary risks and side effects.
