Question about doctors ordering UNNECESSARY tests to protect them from lawsuits?!


Question: Question about doctors ordering UNNECESSARY tests to protect them from lawsuits?
ok on the dr.oz show today, he said that doctors commonly order tests just to protect themselves. what is the talking about?I really dont get it. pls explain 10 pts

Answers:

They order all these tests because people are lawsuit crazy and ONE lawsuit against a doctor can be detrimental to their career. So when someone has one symptom, they want to make sure nothing serious is behind it. This also protects the patient though. Better to know sooner when you asymptomatic than when the disease kicks in full force. Also every patient may experience or explain the same things in different ways.

Example - Say you go to the emergency room because your leg hurts. Would you be satisfied if they said it's nothing, take some pain killers. No you want them to do an x-ray or ultrasound. Make 100% sure nothing is wrong. What if he let you go when you had a blood clot in your leg. Two days later that blood clot went to your lungs. Wouldn't you be pissed at the doctor for not ordering that one test? Of course!

Not saying all docs know what they are doing. If you have a concern about a test being unnecessary talk to the doctor about it and make sure insurance will pay for it. Insurance will not pay for a test unless you have a symptom for the problem/disease being ruled out.



Several years ago it was discovered during routine blood work that I had high liver enzymes. The doctor referred me onto a specialist who over the course of a few months performed almost $15,000's in more specific tests, x-rays, etc., etc., couldn't find any reason for the high liver enzymes so ordered a liver biopsy, total for all the tests and biopsy, $21,000. Everything negative, my liver enzymes are normal now. And, I might add that I wasn't symptomatic ... not jaundiced, walked at least 5 miles a day, only drank socially. Given my history and good physical condition all these tests were completely unnecessary.




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