The author argues that there is a pandemic of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in cardiology, citing that a majority of UK patients on statins are low risk.
No one ever got sued for doing too much. Accordingly, 60% of the UK patients prescribed statins are considered at low risk—that is, they do not need treatment.1 2 But doctors are treating cholesterol concentrations. No one is interested in the abstract concept of risk. It’s easier to do something than nothing. However, while a diagnosis may last only a moment on the doctor’s lips it can hang for a lifetime around patients’ necks. It can destroy wellbeing and relationships forever. Accurate diagnosis is fundamental, but we are engaged in a pandemic of overdiagnosis and overtreatment.⇑ The accurate …
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Des Spence (2013) studied this question.
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