21 Ineffective Medical Procedures
Usually, when we go to the doctor or the
hospital for treatment or testing, we do what the doctor tells us
without questioning their decisions. This is not necessarily the correct
approach, because, contrary to what many think, doctors don’t actually
provide us with treatments tailored to us personally, since the
complaints we come to them with are usually not so different to other
patient’s complaints except for small changes that they think are
negligible.
In recent years, an international
initiative, Choosing Wisely, has begun to promote the quality and safety
of treatments we receive by avoiding unnecessary ones. We invite you to
familiarize yourself with the 21 treatments and tests for which the
doctors received special instructions. Now you’ll also be able to know
how to preserve your safety and health better, especially if you
encounter an instruction that isn’t compatible with one you’ve received
from your doctor.
What is the Choosing Wisely project?
This blessed project began in the United States as an educational
campaign for physicians by ABIM, whose goal is to improve the
relationship between doctors and patients, to encourage patient care
that focuses on the patient’s welfare, and to inform doctors and
patients of unnecessary treatment and testing that may even be harmful.
The project began in 2013, and since then, each year discussions have
been held between senior medical personnel, during which treatments and
tests are raised that the practitioners have become accustomed to using
without giving them much thought. Various countries, such as Canada,
Britain, and Australia, have also adopted the project. The following are
some of the most important things you should know.
21 treatments and tests that you don’t have to undergo
The following information is important for both physicians and patients,
and it is recommended that you know and remember it for the next time
you need to undergo a test or treatment that’s on this list:
1. Chemotherapy can be provided to cancer patients as long as they
reduce the symptoms of the disease, but treatments should be reduced if
they are painful to the patients, as the pain may cause greater distress
to the process of coping with the disease.
2. A person who has suffered minimal head injury does not have to
undergo X-ray scanning, as it probably won’t be useful at all.
3. An X-ray won’t help you learn more about
the medical condition of a person with lower back pain as long as he or
she does not have any other pain.
4. A routine x-ray scan for cancer patients
should be given only after a treatment that has helped them -
otherwise, it won’t reveal any new or useful information.
5. In the event that a person arrives for intensive care, physical
examinations must be done only to answer questions that arise from their
condition, and not routinely.
6. People who undergo artificial respiration don’t have to be completely
anesthetized. If possible, daily tests should be performed to verify
how much anesthetic dosage can be reduced.
7. Children with flat head syndrome don’t have to be treated with a
corrective helmet.
8. For children who suffer from chronic constipation, consider changes
in diet to reduce symptoms before administering medication.
9. People who are supposed to have surgery don’t have to get to the
hospital the day before, as long as they have already been evaluated and
prepared before the operation, and in cases of minor surgery, pre-op
preparation may not even be necessary.
10. For children with acute or normal
bronchitis, a bronchodilator should not be used for treatment unless
there is a situation that unquestionably requires this treatment.
11. Children who suffer from a small wrist fracture don’t need a cast on
their whole hand. A stint that can be easily removed will work as
efficiently.
12. People who have dislocated their hip or shoulder can get sedatives
before starting treatment instead of general anesthesia.
13. Do not give a woman aspirin or progesterone to stabilize a pregnancy
if she has undergone repeated or unexplained miscarriages in the past.
14. Pregnant women should not be given aspirin to contract their blood
vessels.
15. A prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) will not help a person who is
not at risk for prostate cancer due to family or ethnic history.
16. Do not use an ultrasound to determine
whether the baby is larger than normal at a certain stage of pregnancy
if the mother has diabetes.
17. People should have a calcium test only if they have symptoms that
may indicate kidney inflammation, bone disease, or nerve-related
disorders. In addition, it is not necessary to conduct another test
sooner than 3 months after the previous one, except in severe cases,
before surgery or if the patient suffers from a chronic illness. In any
case, there is no need to repeat this test until 48 hours have passed
since the previous test.
18. If an antidepressant that a patient has received hasn’t made a
significant change in their condition after two months, consider
changing medications.
19. A person diagnosed with psychosis should not undergo CT or MRI
unless there are symptoms that may indicate a neurological problem.
20. For women over the age of 45, there is no need for a blood test to
diagnose menopause.
21. Use of blood pressure medications to prevent heart disease or stroke
should be considered only if the patient's blood pressure is above
140-159 / 90-99, and as long as there is another risk factor.
9. People who are supposed to have surgery don’t have to get to the
hospital the day before, as long as they have already been evaluated and
prepared before the operation, and in cases of minor surgery, pre-op
preparation may not even be necessary.
15. A prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) will not help a person who is
not at risk for prostate cancer due to family or ethnic history.
21. Use of blood pressure medications to prevent heart disease or stroke
should be considered only if the patient's blood pressure is above
140-159 / 90-99, and as long as there is another risk factor.
Usually, when we go to the doctor or the
hospital for treatment or testing, we do what the doctor tells us
without questioning their decisions. This is not necessarily the correct
approach, because, contrary to what many think, doctors don’t actually
provide us with treatments tailored to us personally, since the
complaints we come to them with are usually not so different to other
patient’s complaints except for small changes that they think are
negligible.
In recent years, an international
initiative, Choosing Wisely, has begun to promote the quality and safety
of treatments we receive by avoiding unnecessary ones. We invite you to
familiarize yourself with the 21 treatments and tests for which the
doctors received special instructions. Now you’ll also be able to know
how to preserve your safety and health better, especially if you
encounter an instruction that isn’t compatible with one you’ve received
from your doctor.
What is the Choosing Wisely project?
This blessed project began in the United States as an educational
campaign for physicians by ABIM, whose goal is to improve the
relationship between doctors and patients, to encourage patient care
that focuses on the patient’s welfare, and to inform doctors and
patients of unnecessary treatment and testing that may even be harmful.
The project began in 2013, and since then, each year discussions have
been held between senior medical personnel, during which treatments and
tests are raised that the practitioners have become accustomed to using
without giving them much thought. Various countries, such as Canada,
Britain, and Australia, have also adopted the project. The following are
some of the most important things you should know.
21 treatments and tests that you don’t have to undergo
The following information is important for both physicians and patients,
and it is recommended that you know and remember it for the next time
you need to undergo a test or treatment that’s on this list:
1. Chemotherapy can be provided to cancer patients as long as they
reduce the symptoms of the disease, but treatments should be reduced if
they are painful to the patients, as the pain may cause greater distress
to the process of coping with the disease.
2. A person who has suffered minimal head injury does not have to
undergo X-ray scanning, as it probably won’t be useful at all.
3. An X-ray won’t help you learn more about
the medical condition of a person with lower back pain as long as he or
she does not have any other pain.
4. A routine x-ray scan for cancer patients
should be given only after a treatment that has helped them -
otherwise, it won’t reveal any new or useful information.
5. In the event that a person arrives for intensive care, physical
examinations must be done only to answer questions that arise from their
condition, and not routinely.
6. People who undergo artificial respiration don’t have to be completely
anesthetized. If possible, daily tests should be performed to verify
how much anesthetic dosage can be reduced.
7. Children with flat head syndrome don’t have to be treated with a
corrective helmet.
8. For children who suffer from chronic constipation, consider changes
in diet to reduce symptoms before administering medication.
10. For children with acute or normal
bronchitis, a bronchodilator should not be used for treatment unless
there is a situation that unquestionably requires this treatment.
11. Children who suffer from a small wrist fracture don’t need a cast on
their whole hand. A stint that can be easily removed will work as
efficiently.
12. People who have dislocated their hip or shoulder can get sedatives
before starting treatment instead of general anesthesia.
13. Do not give a woman aspirin or progesterone to stabilize a pregnancy
if she has undergone repeated or unexplained miscarriages in the past.
14. Pregnant women should not be given aspirin to contract their blood
vessels.
16. Do not use an ultrasound to determine
whether the baby is larger than normal at a certain stage of pregnancy
if the mother has diabetes.
17. People should have a calcium test only if they have symptoms that
may indicate kidney inflammation, bone disease, or nerve-related
disorders. In addition, it is not necessary to conduct another test
sooner than 3 months after the previous one, except in severe cases,
before surgery or if the patient suffers from a chronic illness. In any
case, there is no need to repeat this test until 48 hours have passed
since the previous test.
18. If an antidepressant that a patient has received hasn’t made a
significant change in their condition after two months, consider
changing medications.
19. A person diagnosed with psychosis should not undergo CT or MRI
unless there are symptoms that may indicate a neurological problem.
20. For women over the age of 45, there is no need for a blood test to
diagnose menopause.