Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health

H. Gilbert Welch; Lisa Schwartz; Steve Woloshin

A complex web of factors has created the phenomenon of overdiagnosis: the popular media promotes fear of disease and perpetuates the myth that early, aggressive treatment is always best; in an attempt to avoid lawsuits, doctors have begun to leave no test undone, no abnormality overlooked; and profits a...