I was quoted today in an AMNews article talking about unnecessary testing (subscription needed). It’s quite sad that despite all the evidence that the USPSTF provides, many physicians follow the ones made up by layperson juries during malpractice trials:

The real guidelines physicians follow, often unconsciously, are the ones judged to be the standard of care by jurors in medical liability trials, Dr. Anderson said.

“Medical standards have migrated to legal standards,” he said. “A trial lawyer can always make the case for why you should have gotten additional data.”

When asked about the practice of defensive medicine, Dr. Pho responded: “I have not heard of a lawsuit because of overtesting.”