What is an excessive diagnosis?

Overdiagnosis occurs when a medical professional diagnoses a patient with a disorder that will not have any harmful symptoms or change the course of the patient's life in any meaningful way. When the individual who diagnosed it, it recognizes it and therefore recommends that the patient does not look for treatment, will not be damaged. On the other hand, when a doctor advises the course of treatment, a patient who is for all practical purposes in good health can enter the course of treatment that includes harmful side effects. Overdiagnnosis occurs most often in pre -screening for cancer. The first cancer screening often detects obviously cancer tissue and recommends treatment despite the fact that in many cases there is little or no potential for long -term damage.

One necessary element of excessive diagnosis is that the diagnosed condition is real and present. It is not necessarily a false diagnosis - it is simply unnecessary because the address or even know the problem cannot bring any possible miperDy. Some definitions even consider the diagnosis of incurable state to be an excessive diagnosis, because the diagnosis, although correct, is completely irrelevant. The diagnosis can also be considered irrelevant if the patient is not interested in seeking treatment due to excessive pain and inconvenience that would cause a limited chance of success or other personal or cultural reasons.

Unfortunately, it is often impossible to determine whether excessive diagnosis occurred only long after diagnosis and subsequent treatment or its lack. For many problems, such as some early cancer signs, it is impossible to find out soon whether treatment is absolutely necessary. Some individuals who avoid treatment may never show symptoms or experience any harmful effects. Others, on the other hand, could develop serious and harmful conditions if they delay the search for treatment. The only way to assess whether to have excessive diagnosis is to prevent the treatment of diof an agnacted state and notice any harmful effects from this condition for the rest of life.

The only most important consequence of excessive diagnosis is unnecessary treatment. In minor cases, this may mean using cheap antibiotics or for a short time monitoring of another equally inconspicuous treatment regimen. In more severe cases, excessive diagnosis may be followed by expensive, disturbing and painful treatment regimens involving chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or many other unpleasant practices. All the inconvenience of treatment is an unnecessary response to diagnosis in such cases.