Healthcare delays during earlier waves of the COVID-19 pandemic are now allowing researchers to compare the outcomes of patients who had a certain treatment or procedure delayed or canceled to those who received their care on time — an important development for research on overtreatment, The Washington Post reported May 24.
Before COVID-19, there was never such a sizable database to compare the outcomes of patients who received a specific healthcare service to those who didn't, experts told the Post. The expanded data will likely be used to conduct studies focused on overtreatment for tests and procedures including colonoscopies on people older than 85, hemoglobin blood work for Type 2 diabetes patients and yearly dental X-rays, all of which were done less frequently amid the pandemic.
Overtreatment and uncessearty treatment has long been a concern in the healthcare industry, with a body of research linking the issue to unnecessary patient suffering and billions of dollars in excess healthcare costs, the Post reported.
In a 2017 physician survey, respondents cited a number of factors that contribute to unnecessary medical care or overtreatment in the U.S., such as additional testing to avoid malpractice, difficulty evaluating patients' prior medical record, and the healthcare industry's incentive to increase revenue.
Additionally, today's CT scans generate thousands of high-resolution images. In the 1990s, scans would provide just 30 to 40 images, Jill Wruble, DO, radiologist at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine, explained, emphasizing the role technology advancements have played in overtreatment.
"We now see things that we would never have seen before, like a lesion that may never become a problem," Dr. Wruble told the Post, adding that some patients prefer aggressive medical treatment for potential problems. "Patients … often resist advice to 'watch and wait' and will demand surgery even when the operation itself comes with potentially dire consequences," which may include years of physical discomfort and fewer physical abilities, she said.
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