Overdiagnosis and pseudodisease: Too much of a good thing?

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine promotes a scientific basis for medical decisions. It often goes beyond the argument that diagnosis and treatment is always valuable. In addition to finding (diagnosing) and fixing (treating) a disease, evidence must show that a patient can benefit from diagnosis and treatment. Our CLINECS model (see Chapter 1) distinguishes outputs from outcomes. Services received do not necessarily translate into value for patients. There are occasions when diagnosis and treatment offers no benefit or when they may even produce harm. In this chapter we consider circumstances in which accurate diagnosis may not necessarily lead to better patient outcomes. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.