3 ms·
treating you early is less expensive then treating you later when the treatment costs would be higher. This is true retrospectively, for anyone who it turns ou
by CWuestefeld 7y ago
treating you early is less expensive then treating you later when the treatment costs would be higher.
This is true retrospectively, for anyone who it turns out really has the disease.
But studies show that prospectively (when you don't know if somebody actually has a given disease), the cost of preventative care - including follow-up tests and unnecessary treatments - exceeds the benefit that you outlined.
EDIT: add quote to clarify what I'm responding to.
- hammock 7y agoWhich makes sense intuitively. You're trading away risk.
- mattkrause 7y agoThis is a little circular, in that we do the preventive care that we actually do is the sort that we think is effective. If it were obvious that these whole-body scans were cost effective, the NHS would have people lining up.