COSMETICS, NOT MEDICINE:

People are taking a closer look not just at cancer screenings, but at all medical tests and procedures, says Steven Woloshin, co-director of the Center for Medicine and the Media at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Concern about "overtesting" and "overtreating" patients is growing because of a rising recognition that these interventions often have risks and serious side effects.

"There is something going on, not just in cancer," Woloshin says. "There is some sort of shift, and it's encouraging. It feels like this is the beginning of a sea change in attitudes towards testing, treating and overdiagnosis."

Doctors are taking a "less is more" approach on several fronts.

Last month, for example, nine physicians' groups launched the "Choosing Wisely" campaign to discourage 45 frequently overused tests and procedures. The groups, which included the American College of Cardiology, noted many common interventions are unnecessary, including stress tests during routine annual exams.

Many of these overused tests involve trying to "help the well stay well by looking for things to be wrong," says H. Gilbert Welch, a physician and author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health.

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