Refers to healthcare for which the risk of harm exceeds its potential for benefit, or when fully informed patients would forgo treatment.
Encompasses over diagnosis, which occurs when individuals are diagnosed with conditions that will never cause symptoms, and over treatment which is treatment targeting overdiagnosed disease or from which there is minimal or no benefit.
Examples of overdiagnosis follows:
There is no benefit to screen for asymptomatic carotid stenosis.
Bimanual pelvic examination screening test should not be performed as it has no effect on morbidity or mortality from cancers or benign gynecological conditions.
Overuse encompasses the use of diagnostic and screening tests that are not needed or risky, and use of therapeutic procedures and medications where harms outweigh benefits, and use of over overly expensive healthcare settings.
Subdivided into three areas: 1.overuse of testing which can lead to overdiagnosis of disease that would never cause symptoms, 2. Overtreatment which involves providing treatment that is not indicated or otherwise inappropriate and 3.Treatment of overdiagnosed disease.