Competing with the conventional wisdom: newspaper framing of medical overtreatment

Overtreatment, defined as the use of medical tests, products, and services that are not medically necessary or beneficial to the patient, may account for as much as 30% of all U.S. health care expenditures. This article describes a study of the framing of this important health and economic issue in elite U.S. newspapers from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2010. Within 98 articles providing some mention of overtreatment, analysis revealed three major frames: uncertainty, cost, and legal issues. Within the uncertainty frame, there was a remarkable emphasis on cancer testing and treatment as a driver of overutilization, which may suggest to readers that overtreatment does not occur or is not important in other types of medical care. Relatively few stories paid much attention to the financial costs of overtreatment.