An Excess of Medical Exams

This article reviews a study that suggests that the full value of the annual medical exams that US citizens undergo is not established yet. Not surprising is the finding that the insured are more likely to be subjected to such tests and the reason is primarily because payment for the same is guaranteed. The cost of those exams and the fact that up to 20% of all adult citizens of the US take them suggests to this blogger that people are often less likely to questions medical procedures for the reason that the fear of infirmity is exaggerated.

The total cost of the unnecessary procedures that are undertaken show that physicians use the opportunity to extract rents from their patients. As stated in the piece, some medics are unsure whether personal health would be worse without the exams but that uncertainty leads to its provision in excess and for those for whom its adds little value. Perhaps they ought to be confined for the strict areas where the benfits are demonstrated already.