Whitney Palmer

When Testing Becomes Overtesting

Published on the May 15, 2015 DiagnosticImaging.com website

By Whitney L.J. Howell

On April 1, Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, NBA team owner, and actor, took to Twitter, sharing his philosophy on how patients can best be engaged with their health care. In a series of tweets, he advocated – among those who can afford it – for having a quarterly blood test in an effort to establish an individualized health baseline.

The wake of those tweets has been filled with mixed responses from the medical community. Within radiology, a specialty constantly concerned with the specter of overtesting, providers are in heated disagreement over whether Cuban’s advice is reckless or revolutionary for health care.

To determine the pros and cons of a quarterly blood-test strategy, Diagnostic Imaging interviewed two industry experts. Saurabh Jha, MD, MS, assistant professor of radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Stephen Hunt, MD, PhD, an interventional radiologist and co-director of the Penn Image-Guided Interventions Laboratory shared their thoughts.

To read the debate at its original location: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/practice-management/when-testing-becomes-overtesting?GUID=EF943FEE-BD0C-44C7-A1BC-C82F32210979&XGUID=&rememberme=1&ts=15052015

May 15, 2015 - Posted by wjpalmer | Healthcare | baseline blood tests, Harry Jha MD, Mark Cuban, quarterly blood tests, radiology overtesting, Saurabh Jha MD, Stephen Hunt MD