Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- Doctors are calling for an end to common medical tests and procedures that are unnecessary and in some cases very expensive.
Nine medical societies representing hundreds of thousands of doctors are challenging the widely held belief that more health care is better. They’ve just released a list of 45 tests and procedures most people don’t need.
Among those tests are the following: - MRI’s when someone first complains of back pain – this test costs about $800 and most people’s back pain gets better if they keep active and wait it out.
- Antibiotics for mild to moderate sinus symptoms -- unless it lasts more than a week or gets worse.
- EKG’s during a routine physical exam, even when there’s no sign of heart disease.
- Repeat colonoscopies within ten years of a first test. If you get a clean bill of health, you don’t need another thousand dollar colonoscopy for a decade.
- And patients with early stage breast or low grade prostate cancer generally don’t need advanced imaging or bone scans.
The complete list of the 45 procedures that are considered to be overused can be found
online.
