There's always another test you can do. We have a problem saying "We're done now."

That quote comes from a Minnesota physician in a Pioneer Press article that includes many good elements:

Info on disparities in Medicare spending;

Dartmouth Atlas data and graphic;

Local angle on Atul Gawande’s New Yorker piece .

Kudos to reporter Jeremy Olson.

Comments

Gerold Kretschmar, MD posted on June 29, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Great and true articel, not only a US problem, it is the same in Europe. I´m working as a ER doctor, the more test we get the more we use.
Besides money – test lead to useless and sometimes dangerous procedures, rising the costs of medical care even more.
What we need is research on this, meaning what diagnostic we need, what is appropiate for a certain illness. Not what is possible to use for a certain illness.

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