Research output per year
Research output per year
Shannon Brownlee*, Kalipso Chalkidou, Jenny Doust, Adam G Elshaug, Paul Glasziou, Iona Heath, Somil Nagpal, Vikas Saini, Divya Srivastava, Kelsey Chalmers, Deborah Korenstein
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Overuse, which is defined as the provision of medical services that are more likely to cause harm than good, is a pervasive problem. Direct measurement of overuse through documentation of delivery of inappropriate services is challenging given the difficulty of defining appropriate care for patients with individual preferences and needs; overuse can also be measured indirectly through examination of unwarranted geographical variations in prevalence of procedures and care intensity. Despite the challenges, the high prevalence of overuse is well documented in high-income countries across a wide range of services and is increasingly recognised in low-income countries. Overuse of unneeded services can harm patients physically and psychologically, and can harm health systems by wasting resources and deflecting investments in both public health and social spending, which is known to contribute to health. Although harms from overuse have not been well quantified and trends have not been well described, overuse is likely to be increasing worldwide.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 156-168 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | The Lancet |
Volume | 390 |
Issue number | 10090 |
Early online date | 6 Jan 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Jul 2017 |
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate/opinion › Research › peer-review