Testing 1, 2, 3: Is overtesting undermining patient and system health? [Test 1, 2, 3: Les analyses trop nombreuses minent-elles la santé des patients et du système?]

摘要

Health care costs are rising in Canada, and not mainly because of population aging. One of the fastest growing areas of health services spending is laboratory testing. Laboratory tests are not free. McGrail and colleagues recently demonstrated that in British Columbia (BC), $174 million more was spent on laboratory testing and imaging in 2005 and 2006 compared with 1996 and 1997.1 Research further reports a 37.4% increase in laboratory testing over this time (S. Sivananthan and colleagues, unpublished data, 2012). These increases are even after accounting for population aging and inflation.