Sometimes, less is more

16 June 2011A growing movement among US healthcare professionals is arguing that medical treatment can cause more harm than good, reports Melissa Sweet in Inside Story

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MOST of us have grown up listening to the constant refrain of modern healthcare: the chorus telling us that we should have more tests, more treatments and more interventions – for the sake of our health. But another tune is increasing in volume, urging us to be alert to the potential for people to suffer harm as a result of over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatment. And it is probably no coincidence that the “less is more” riff is taking off in the home of what some call the “medical-industrial complex,” the United States.

Again, it is probably no coincidence that one of its powerful proponents, Rosemary Gibson, has long experience working in patient safety and palliative care policy. These are two areas where the harmful impacts of unnecessary interventions are particularly evident…

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Photo: J.D. Lasica/ timefornurses

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