From the publishers: “A complex web of factors has created the phenomenon of overdiagnosis: the popular media promotes fear of disease and perpetuates the myth that early, aggressive treatment is always best; in an attempt to avoid lawsuits, doctors have begun to leave no test undone, no abnormality overlooked; and profits are being made from screenings, medical procedures, and pharmaceuticals. Revealing the social, medical, and economic ramifications of a health-care system that overdiagnoses and overtreats patients, Dr. H. Gilbert Welch makes a reasoned call for change that would save us pain, worry, and money.” The author, however, is very clear: “Diagnosis is always important when people are suffering and it’s important that it be done well. None of my comments should be construed as suggesting you are better off not being diagnosed when you are sick. Finally, this book is not a condemnation of all of American medicine, nor a call for alternative medicine. I am conventionally trained in Western medicine, and I believe doctors do a lot of good. If you are sick, you should see one.”

Overdiagnosed : making people sick in the pursuit of health. Dr. H. Gilbert Welch. Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 2011.