To Be Complete

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

American medical care is considered the best and the most expensive in the world. We physicians are trained to be thorough. We believe that to be thorough we have to be complete. We are uneasy unless every possibility has been ruled out. I have been combating this compulsion of house-staff members "to be complete" for many years.When challenged and asked to defend their reasons for ordering or performing unnecessary tests and procedures, the reasons given usually fall under one of the following excuses:The "to be complete" excuse. This excuse is deemed self-explanatory. Constructive criticism of this attitude as . . .