Tackling the Problem of Health Care Overuse
<p>Reining in health care spending is a primary goal for insurers, health care organizations, and governments. One area many experts say deserves greater attention is the overuse of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that are of little or no value to patients—and sometimes even cause harm.</p>
<p>By one estimate, spending on this “low value” care amounts to $780 billion annually in the United States alone. At the same time, many cost-effective, highly beneficial services are chronically underused.
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For our new Q&A, former Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow Adam Elshaug, a professor health policy at the University of Sydney, talked to us about the scope of overuse, its causes, and what might be done to address a growing worldwide problem.
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