Quote Originally Posted by RICHARD View Post

If a MD does not do a test, order a scan or exam and the patient goes for a second opinion and is found to be negligent, he is in for a lawsuit.

What do you tell a patient that has XXXXXXXX and you were unable to help them because you were asked not to test them for it?

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That's not the point. It's not that patients aren't tested for something which is suspected, i.e. the symptoms are enough evidence to point towards a decent probability of one particular condition. It's when doctors start saying 'Well, it could be X, Y or Z, so therefore we'll give you treatment for all three, just in case.' That's what the article is getting at.

Still, if doctors are under so much pressure from looming lawsuits should they practice under correct regulations (it is practically and morally wrong to oversubscribe drugs, as it promotes natural selection of pathogens), then I can understand why they would want to throw medication at you to keep you quiet.

On the point that I highlighted about TV adverts pushing prescription drugs - I remember seeing a few such advertisements when I was over in the USA and finding them bizarre.

From what I keep reading about this topic, both here and elsewhere, it seems that a lot of US citizens feel that an NHS system has the President/Prime Minister/whatever pushing all the buttons. That's incorrect. Our NHS is government controlled, but it is not party controlled. There's a massive difference.