Is preventive medicine essential or excessive?
Image credit: freestockpro via Unsplash
Preventive medicine aims to identify and address potential health issues before they become serious, but some argue it may lead to overtreatment. Critics suggest that preventive medicine may over-diagnose by conducting unnecessary screenings, MRIs, and CT scans, which often turn healthy individuals into patients by revealing harmless abnormalities. However, proponents argue that preventive strategies save lives by catching diseases early, reducing the burden of late-stage interventions. Balancing preventive care with a patient-centered approach is crucial to avoid overtreatment while still promoting overall health.
Source
Gupta P, Gupta M, Koul N. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment; how to deal with too much medicine. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Aug 25;9(8):3815-3819. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_433_20. PMID: 33110773; PMCID: PMC7586591.
Additional Reading
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/mri-screenings-preventive-medicine
https://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133686016/Is-Preventive-Medicine-Actually-Overtreatment