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There was a period where doctors would run every test on the list.. They stopped this because even if everything were free, each test has a false positive rate

There was a period where doctors would run every test on the list.. They stopped this because even if everything were free, each test has a false positive rate with a psychological cost to the patient. If anything the US has a problem with not accepting that everyone is going to die and asking them to go on to a road makes this more likely, (thus costing more than the value of the appointment.)

singleshot_ 2y ago
Being told that a doctor won’t do a test because it’s not worth it has a psychological cost that is higher than being told that the screening test came back positive and they need to run some more tests. You are incorrectly calculating the “value of the appointment” from precisely the wrong viewpoint. Remember that healthcare is about the patient’s health, not the bill.
- nradov 2y ago
  No, you're missing the point. Over treatment is a serious problem in healthcare. There is always some risk of iatrogenic harm, and for many tests the risks outweigh the benefits. Many tests don't even have a simple positive or negative result: often the outcome is inconclusive. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/price-we-pay-9781635575910/ https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/price-we-pay-9781635575910/
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