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>That way patients can ask the doctors if the tests are actually needed. How does this work? If a doctor prescribes a blood test, he's already said it's neede

by tsotha 14y ago

>That way patients can ask the doctors if the tests are actually needed. How does this work? If a doctor prescribes a blood test, he's already said it's needed. Put yourself in a doctor's shoes for a minute. You told the patient he needs a blood test. Then he asks you whether it's actually needed. How can you possibly say "Nah, just kidding. We don't need that one"?

nijk 14y ago
Doctors are like lawyers. They give clients options and rough probabilities of outcomes.
DanBC 14y ago
One of the most important questions you can ask of a doctor is "what happens if we do nothing?"
- tsotha 14y ago
  That works for treatment, but not so much for tests. If you don't know what's going on you don't know what happens if you don't do anything.
  - wfunction 13y ago
    Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. If they have absolutely no idea what the possibilities are then they wouldn't be ordering tests anyway.
    - tsotha 13y ago
      >Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. No they don't, except in very rare cases. Doctors order tests to make a diagnosis. The treatment follows from that. >If they have absolutely no idea what the possibilities are then they wouldn't be ordering tests anyway. I'm not sure a doctor would have "no idea what the possibilities are" unless you don't have any symptoms. If you don't have any symptoms, why are you at the doctor's office?
      - wfunction 13y ago
        > > Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. > No they don't, except in very rare cases. Doctors order tests to make a diagnosis. The treatment follows from that. What I said didn't contract what you said. If test => diagnosis => treatment then test => treatment.
        tsotha 13y ago
        Without a diagnosis, how could a doctor possibly know the answer to the question "what happens if we do nothing"?
        wfunction 13y ago
        I never said without a diagnosis.
        tsotha 13y ago
        It's pretty rare to arrive at a diagnosis without tests.
anonymoushn 13y ago
Overtesting is more or less a thing in the U.S. Many tests are not harmless, so even a person who carries an infinite amount of money around would do well to question the necessity of tests.
- tsotha 13y ago
  >Overtesting is more or less a thing in the U.S. I don't believe that. Over the years I've had to fight to get tests that turned out to be important, and I'm suspicious of government studies showing "overtesting" right when the government is in the process of taking over health care. You can certainly eliminate a lot of testing without affecting mortality rates significantly. But that's because in absolute terms a lot of extra people have to die before mortality rates are affected significantly.
wfunction 13y ago
need it != it would be useful

by tsotha 14y ago

nijk 14y ago

Doctors are like lawyers. They give clients options and rough probabilities of outcomes.

DanBC 14y ago

One of the most important questions you can ask of a doctor is "what happens if we do nothing?"

tsotha 14y ago
That works for treatment, but not so much for tests. If you don't know what's going on you don't know what happens if you don't do anything.
- wfunction 13y ago
  Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. If they have absolutely no idea what the possibilities are then they wouldn't be ordering tests anyway.
  - tsotha 13y ago
    >Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. No they don't, except in very rare cases. Doctors order tests to make a diagnosis. The treatment follows from that. >If they have absolutely no idea what the possibilities are then they wouldn't be ordering tests anyway. I'm not sure a doctor would have "no idea what the possibilities are" unless you don't have any symptoms. If you don't have any symptoms, why are you at the doctor's office?
    - wfunction 13y ago
      > > Doctors order tests to help them choose the right treatments. > No they don't, except in very rare cases. Doctors order tests to make a diagnosis. The treatment follows from that. What I said didn't contract what you said. If test => diagnosis => treatment then test => treatment.
      - tsotha 13y ago
        Without a diagnosis, how could a doctor possibly know the answer to the question "what happens if we do nothing"?
        wfunction 13y ago
        I never said without a diagnosis.
        tsotha 13y ago
        It's pretty rare to arrive at a diagnosis without tests.

anonymoushn 13y ago

Overtesting is more or less a thing in the U.S. Many tests are not harmless, so even a person who carries an infinite amount of money around would do well to question the necessity of tests.

tsotha 13y ago
>Overtesting is more or less a thing in the U.S. I don't believe that. Over the years I've had to fight to get tests that turned out to be important, and I'm suspicious of government studies showing "overtesting" right when the government is in the process of taking over health care. You can certainly eliminate a lot of testing without affecting mortality rates significantly. But that's because in absolute terms a lot of extra people have to die before mortality rates are affected significantly.

wfunction 13y ago

need it != it would be useful