Art of Medicine
Sep 2020
Abstract
This comic visually conveys the absurdity of overreliance on symptom measures and excessive testing in contemporary clinical decision making and health care practice.
Figure. Choosing Unwisely
Media
Sketched with pencil on paper; finished in Corel Paintshop.
Caption
Diagnostic tests or procedures are unnecessary and potentially sources of iatrogenic harm when ordered out of fear of litigation or for some other reason that does not motivate or inform good care of a patient.1 Organizations and health care professional societies have introduced many initiatives, among which Choosing Wisely is one of the most widely known,2 to emphasize the importance of evidence-based, patient-centered approaches to diagnostic decision making.3
References
- Morgan DJ, Leppin AL, Smith CD, Korenstein D. A practical framework for understanding and reducing medical overuse: conceptualizing overuse through the patient-clinician interaction. J Hosp Med. 2017;12(5):346-351.
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2020;
Choosing Wisely® website. https://www.choosingwisely.org. Accessed June 8, 2020.
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American College of Radiology. ACR Appropriateness Criteria. https://www.acr.org/Clinical-Resources/ACR-Appropriateness-Criteria. Accessed July 23, 2020.
