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The ability to say no can save you long-term hardships when it comes to your health
With several medical treatments being used far too often, it’s time to learn which to avoid and when to ask questions
In an attempt to get doctors to practice better “evidence-based” medicine, some authoritative American health groups have developed a list of over 130 “do nots” for doctors to take note of — procedures, tests and treatments that these experts feel are done and used way too often.
But to have maximum impact, I think this advice should also be aimed at the other half of the doctor/patient tandem. In fact, the most important medical lesson most patients need to learn is when to say “no” or “don’t.”
Now, there are clearly way too many of these proscriptions for me to list them all, so I’ll just highlight a few of the don’ts that stood out for me:
There’s a lot more to this list, but here’s the point I want to make: everything that’s done to you or for you in a medical situation (not just by doctors, but by all health professionals) carries potential risks and possible downsides.
For example, a recent study found that a significant number of women who receive a false positive report on a mammogram (a test with a fairly high chance of a false positive over a woman’s lifetime) will have negative psychological consequences up to three years following that result.
So, the most important thing to do to protect yourself from potential negative consequences of a test or a therapy is to ask a lot of questions. And if you’re not happy with the answers, then just say, “Well, maybe next time, dude.”
OK, maybe you shouldn’t call your doctor “dude,” especially when he’s about to do your vasectomy, but you get my meaning, right?
Dr. Art Hister is a medical writer and health analyst for Global TV.
Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.