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The ethical dilemma of medical radiation

much of decision-making in medicine is in the hands of individual physicians, and it is theoretically in our power to limit unnecessary procedures. But this can create a conflict between what is good for an individual patient and what is good for the health of the entire population.

Patient 1, Society 0  NYTimes.comBy DANIELLE OFRI, M.D. 24 Dec 10, If I did a CT scan for every one of my many patients with headache, I might pick up an otherwise unsuspected tumor in one of out of thousands of them. For that one patient, it would be valuable. For the many more who would have side effects from the scan — from the contrast dye or radiation, or from false positive results leading to yet more tests — it would be harmful. And when finite health care dollars get shifted to unnecessary tests — well, we all lose out eventually…..

A study last year in Archives of Internal Medicine highlighted the possible damage of radiation from excessive medical testing. Researchers estimated that 29,000 extra cancers could be caused from one year’s worth of CT scans. The radiation from potentially unnecessary mammograms has also raised red flags.

Then, of course, there is also the cost of all this testing — a cost that threatens to bankrupt the health care system and the American economy.

“Being able to say no is the heart of the issue,” a health economics researcher said when interviewed by The New York Times about that study.

He is right, of course. So much of decision-making in medicine is in the hands of individual physicians, and it is theoretically in our power to limit unnecessary procedures. But this can create a conflict between what is good for an individual patient and what is good for the health of the entire population.

Patient 1, Society 0 – NYTimes.com

December 24, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, Religion and ethics