Physicians' Attitudes Toward Unnecessary Medical Services: Ethical and Systemic Challenges in Fourth Level Prevention...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Medical Ethics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Unnecessary medical services are common, costly, and harmful to patient care.
• Physicians' perspectives on unnecessary tests and procedures are crucial for understanding and addressing this issue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate physicians' attitudes towards the provision of unnecessary tests and procedures in a hospital setting.
• To identify the perceived causes and potential solutions for unnecessary healthcare services.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 196 physicians at a referral University Hospital.
• Data collected via a validated questionnaire over six months, analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square/Fisher's exact tests.
• SPSS version 22.0 was used for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Nearly 90% of physicians view unnecessary tests/procedures as a major issue; over 92% note poor patient compliance in avoiding them.
• Patient insistence (55.1%) and fear of legal complaints are identified as primary drivers of unnecessary services.
• Physicians believe increased patient education (83.2%), malpractice reform (81.6%), and financing system changes (88.2%) can reduce unnecessary services. Specialist physicians showed higher concern than residents (P=0.027).

Conclusions:

• Unnecessary healthcare services present a substantial challenge, driven by patient demand and physician concerns about legal repercussions.
• Systemic reforms, particularly those addressing the physician's role and patient interaction, are essential to mitigate the problem of unnecessary services.