Hundreds of millions of dollars went toward unnecessary medical tests, procedures and treatments in Washington state over the course of one year, according to a Washington Health Alliance study.
For the study, researchers examined 47 common tests, procedures and treatments that clinician-led national initiatives such as Choosing Wisely and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have said are overused or unnecessary. They specifically looked at insurance claims from approximately 1.3 million Washington state patients using the Milliman MedInsight Health Waste Calculator. All of the patients examined received one of the 47 services between July 2015 and June 2016.
Here are three findings.
1. Nearly half of the Washington patients (622,341) received low-value services in one year.
2. Thirty-six percent of spending on the 47 tests or services examined went to low-value services. This resulted in an estimated $282 million in unnecessary healthcare spending.
3. Nearly all overuse (93 percent) was attributed to 11 common tests, procedures and treatments, including cervical cancer screenings done too often, preoperative baseline laboratory studies before low-risk surgery, imaging for eye disease, and annual EKGs or cardiac screening in low risk individuals.
Read the full study here.
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