The bill for unnecessary medical tests in the United States could exceed $200 million, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (view abstract). Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University examined how often more than 4,600 adults received screening tests that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force rates as “C” tests--where evidence isn’t strong enough to recommend for or against their use in asymptomatic patients--and “D” tests--those that aren’t recommended for asymptomatic patients because risks outweigh benefits.
At least one of the “D” tests--urinalysis, electrocardiogram, and x-ray--was ordered against recommendations for 43% to 46% of patients. Extrapolated nationally, the annual cost for these inappropriate tests is between $47 million and $194 million. The “C” tests added another $12 million to $63 million. And the cost of follow-up care for false positive tests add millions more.
