Doctors should avoid 90 medical procedures that are performed regularly but often cost too much or do little good, according to a new list of expert recommendations.
The ABIM Foundation said it released its medical “don’ts” to help doctors and patients choose wisely and reduce health care costs.
Some examples: Physicians shouldn’t use feeding tubes for patients with advanced dementia or automatically order CT scans to evaluate children’s minor head injuries.
“More is not always better,” said Daniel Wolfson, the executive vice president of the foundation, which is affiliated with the American Board of Internal Medicine. “The current question is what not to do because it is wasteful or has side effects.”
The nonprofit American Board of Internal Medicine certifies doctors of internal medicine and aims to improve the quality of health care.
The list, which combined the recommendations of 17 medical groups, was released Thursday. The 90 procedures mentioned involve palliative medicine, neurology, gynecology, pediatrics, rheumatology and other disciplines.