| REVIEW ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 8 | Page : 3815-3819 |
|
|
Overdiagnosis and overtreatment; how to deal with too much medicine
Puneeta Gupta1, Meeta Gupta2, Neeraj Koul3
1 Departments of Medicine, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Jammu, J&K, India
2 Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Jammu, J&K, India
3 Departments of Surgery, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Jammu, J&K, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Puneeta Gupta
Department of Medicine, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences, Jammu, J&K; Postal Address: House No 384 Sector No 5, Channi Himmat, Jammu, J&K
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_433_20
|
|
|
The past few decades have seen medical science making rapid strides in the field of diagnostic technologies, thus making it possible to detect some conditions at a very early stage. An unwanted effect of these developments is overdiagnosis which occurs when a true abnormality is discovered, but detection of that abnormality and its treatment does not benefit the patient. Overdiagnosis is encountered as a result cancer screening, in genetic diseases and in some chronic conditions when disease definition is broadened. There is urgent need of development of evidence based decision-making tools for clinicians which will help patients understand the benefits and harms of different screening and treatment methods. And the treating physician has to play a important role to convince the patient that watchful waiting, for some of the lesions may be the best option available in some circumstances.
|
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
