Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog
Too much of anything isn’t always good for you. In an article by AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, she talks about how medical overtreatment can sometimes do a patient more harm than good.
Neergaard says that up to one-third of medical tests and treatments are unnecessary, including:
• Controversial fetal monitors that mistakenly indicate that a baby is in distress. These inaccurate results can lead to unnecessary C-sections.
• Subjecting a patient to too many CT scans can increase his/her cancer risk
• Unnecessary stents given to patients with blocked heart arteries can increase the chance of health complications
• Prescribing antibiotics for illnesses that can’t be treated with medication
• Giving a patient too much anesthesia
• Prescribing multiple drugs can increase the likelihood of adverse drug reactions
Medical overtreatment refers to giving a patient more medical care than he/she required. In many cases, the outcome ends up the same or worse for the patient than if he/she had been given enough rather than too much medical care. Patients who experience medical overtreatment may have undergone unnecessary, invasive, painful and medical procedures and tests that could have been easily avoided if only the patient received the right amount of medical care.
Washington DC Medical Malpractice
If you or your loved one has suffered because a medical provider made a medical mistake, did not provide you with the proper medical tests or medications, wrongly diagnosed your condition, or administered too many tests or treatments that were unnecessary, you may be able to pursue Washington DC medical malpractice recovery from the liable parties.
Overtreated: More Medical Care Isn’t Always Better, ABC News, June 7, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo
Medical Malpractice, Insurance Information Institute
Call our Washington DC injury lawyers today.