Unnecessary health care
Unnecessary Health Care
Unnecessary health care (also known as overuse, or healthcare overutilization) refers to medical services that are not really needed by the patient, and which may not improve their health or may even be harmful. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈnɛsɪsɛri hɛlθ kɛər/
Etymology
The term "unnecessary health care" is derived from the English words "unnecessary", meaning not needed, and "health care", referring to the maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health, especially through the provision of medical services.
Definition
Unnecessary health care encompasses a wide range of services, including diagnostic tests, treatments, and hospitalizations, that are not based on patient-centered outcomes. This can occur when health care providers recommend services that are not evidence-based, when patients request services that are not medically indicated, or when the risks of services outweigh their potential benefits.
Related Terms
- Defensive medicine: The practice of recommending medical tests or treatments to avoid liability, rather than because they are in the best interest of the patient.
- Medical overtesting: The practice of conducting unnecessary medical tests, which can lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
- Overdiagnosis: The diagnosis of a "disease" that will never cause symptoms or death during a patient's lifetime.
- Overtreatment: The provision of medical services that are not necessary and may be harmful.
- Patient-induced demand: When patients request unnecessary health care services.
- Supply-induced demand: When health care providers recommend unnecessary services to generate income.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Unnecessary health care
- Wikipedia's article - Unnecessary health care
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski