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29 Jun, 2014

Indian doctors wage war on unnecessary medical tests – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Top cardiologists of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here have decided to start an initiative called the Society for Less Investigative Medicine (SLIM) — a movement that aims to take on the growing menace of excessive medical investigations, starting with cardiology.

Several studies across the world have conclusively established that generalized annual health check-ups are unnecessary and add enormously to healthcare costs without any commensurate benefits. Several other screening tests and investigations have also been similarly shown to make little sense — other than adding to the bank balance of diagnostic centres and doctors who get a cut for sending patients for tests and investigations.

This unhealthy practice has prompted Prof Balram Bhargava of the cardiology department in AIIMS, one of the key people behind SLIM, to raise an alarm over over-investigation, a practice that has become rampant simply because economic incentives were skewed in favour of recommending unnecessary tests.

via AIIMS doctors lead the way, wage war on unnecessary medical tests – The Times of India.