A Practical Framework for Understanding and Reducing Medical Overuse: Conceptualizing Overuse Through the Patient-Clinician Interaction

A Practical Framework for Understanding and Reducing Medical Overuse: Conceptualizing Overuse Through the Patient-Clinician Interaction.

Overuse of medical services is an increasingly recognized driver of poor-quality care and high cost. A practical framework is needed to guide clinical decisions and facilitate concrete actions that can reduce overuse and improve care. We used an iterative, expert-informed, evidence-based process to develop a framework for conceptualizing interventions to reduce medical overuse. Given the comple...

Setting a research agenda for medical overuse

Practical management of medication-overuse headache.

Epidemiological studies suggest that medication-overuse as defined by the International Headache Society is extremely common in patients with chronic daily headache. If all medication-overuse produces medication-overuse headache (MOH) in headache patients, it would be the third most frequent form of headache, after tension-type headache and migraine. Treatment of MOH is hindered by the absence ...

Can doctors reduce harmful medical overuse worldwide?

The Choosing Wisely campaign began in the United States in 2012, founded by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. It helps specialists to agree lists of interventions that should be used with more caution because they are often unnecessary and therefore wasteful and potentially harmful (see box 1 for examples). More than 60 US specialist societies will have created lists by...

Ultrasound Use and “Overuse”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General has issued a report concerning "high use" and "questionable use" ultrasound. Findings include those geographic areas where occurrences are most frequent, as well as the most common elements that characterize questionable use. While not its primary focus, emergency physician performed bedside ultrasound is within th...