Unnecessary testing for levels of vitamin D is costing Australia's healthcare system about $87 million a year and contributing to the sector's carbon footprint, according to Australian researchers. The researchers found in 2020, more than 4.4 million vitamin D tests were funded by Medicare, enough [...]
This is the first study to undertake an adapted triple bottom line assessment of a low-value healthcare activity to explore and make explicit its health, financial and environmental impacts. Our triple bottom line assessment of vitamin D testing highlights that low-value care, which provides little [...]
Our study highlights potential improvements in practice towards reducing medical radiation exposure in certain high risk population. Since changes in the relative probability of having a CT scan (representing changes in scope) rather than changes in the distribution of the patient characteristics (representing changes in [...]
To determine the impact of test measurement variation on misclassification of prediabetes and diabetes in the US adult population.
Medical tests provide important information to guide clinical management. Overtesting, however, may cause harm to patients and the healthcare system, including through misdiagnosis, false positives, false negatives and overdiagnosis. Clinicians are ultimately responsible for test requests, and are therefore ideally positioned to prevent overtesting and [...]
We examine whether new government criteria designed to reduce overuse of vitamin D testing changed testing rates in Australian women. Although testing initially declined, the reduction was not sustained. Women who had more doctor visits and who had been tested previously were more likely to [...]
Low back pain is a global health problem. In Mexico it is one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions as well as the leading cause of disability. This review provides an overview of the challenges and complexities of managing low back pain in Mexico.
Overuse of diagnostic imaging for patients with low back pain remains common. The underlying beliefs about diagnostic imaging that could drive overuse remain unclear. We synthesised qualitative research that has explored clinician, patient or general public beliefs about diagnostic imaging for low back pain.
This paper aimed to evaluate the effects of information format on intentions to request diagnostic imaging for non-specific low back pain in members of the public. It found that framing information to emphasise potential harms from overdiagnosis reduced intention to request diagnostic imaging for low [...]
Most people are familiar with the concept of undergoing general health checks. This might mean that your doctor talks to you about your medical history and lifestyle including diet, physical activity, alcohol intake and smoking history. This is part of providing holistic care to identify [...]