Four Costs Associated with Overuse

In an article defending the  development of clinical practice guideline in a "private regulation regime," University of Texas law professor Ronen Avraham identifies 4 costs associated with overuse:

1. Defensive Medicine - excessive care that physicians provide in an effort to shield themselves from liability


2. Offensive Medicine - excessive care that physicians offer to maximize reimbursements


3. Cost-Apathetic Medicine - excessive care that physicians provide because they are trained to to everything for their patients and not pay close attention to costs


4. Compassionate Medicine -  excessive care that physicians provide, primarily at the end of life, because they cannot bear the thought of doing nothing