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Should Doctors Do Less?

http://media.soundmedicine.org/segments/091513_7.mp3

Michael LeFevre, M.D., visits “Sound Medicine” to discuss his article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) about doctors ordering fewer unnecessary screening tests. According to Dr. LeFevre doctors have a hard time reducing the amount of unnecessary tests and procedures they order because they have been trained to cover all of their bases. The current reimbursement system encourages doctors to order more tests and the threat of malpractice is always looming. However physicians aren’t completely to blame, Dr. Lefevre encourages patients to question their physicians and ask about the benefits and risks of the tests they order.