4 ms·

It's not just the malpractice premiums, but all the defensive medicine the doctors do to address low-probability scenarios where the cost (and often the risk) o

• georgeecollins 8y ago
  That's another lovely anecdote. Are you sure that: - Unneeded testing isn't also pushed by patients? - Hospitals and administrators also push testing as a profit center? I don't know.
  • LorenPechtel 8y ago
    Well, the one time I know I ran into it there was no pushing from me. I knew long-dormant malaria had decided to cease being dormant (the cyclic nature of the symptoms is a dead giveaway to anyone who has encountered it) the doc agreed with my assessment although he felt my symptoms were mild (which wasn't a surprise to me, my initial infection had been mild, also.) He looked up the right drugs (when and where you were infected say what drugs to use) and wrote the script--but also ordered a lab test to confirm. The drugs stopped my symptoms in their tracks, a clear confirmation they were right and that before the lab could have replied even if they had done their job correctly. They had nobody trained to do it, though, and substituted a basically useless test instead. A week later the doc gets the results and that was the only time I ever heard him curse (this was also my wife's employer, I saw a lot more of him than a patient would.) If he had a microscope he could have done the proper test in 10 minutes (He worked with Doctors Without Borders and thus had more clinical experience with malaria than a specialist would.) $200 down the drain because he felt the need to CYA. It should have been try the drugs first and if they don't work then you investigate.