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Monday, October 13, 2008
Preventive medicine — another name for overdiagnosis?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re healthy, should you go looking for a disease or an ailment?
A recent article says that is the gist of preventive medicine these days.
It says preventive medicine is less about promoting healthy habits, and more about seeking out early diagnosis. Early diagnosis sometimes leads people to be treated for “diseases” that would never have bothered them because almost everybody with a diagnosis undergoes treatment. Much of that is costly and unnecessary, according to the article. It notes that pharmaceutical companies and medical centers see preventive medicine as a great way to turn people into patients — and paying customers.
What do you think? Do you have a concern about overdiagnosis and the unneccesary costs and treatments that goes along with it?
Do you get annual screenings and checkups even if you are living a healthy lifestyle — exercising, eating a balanced diet and not smoking? Have you ever received a diagnosis that completely caught you off guard?
