I have talked to many people about medical tests and have talked to my own doctor and I am convinced that the cost of medical care and unnecessary tests are related big time.
I won't go into details about my case except to say that after my father died of heart related illness, I had it in my head that there must be something wrong with my heart...well it took many tests and a special trip into a major hospital in Boston to convince me my heart was healthy.
Needlesss to say, I finally pulled all my medical records from my long-time primary doctor and found another. This doctor never hesitated to just throw out prescriptions and tests like they were going out of style.
My new primary doctor frowns on unnecessary medicine and is a proponent of healthy lifestyles. I now only take 10mg of a statin to keep my cholesterol in check and I power walk one hour a day.(4 1/2 miles). He is amazed at my blood pressure and I know longer fantasize about heart disease.
This overweight red-nosed doctor is still practicing and handing out medicine and costly medical tests like candy. I don't blame the doctor for the culture of looking over your shoulder to see if there is a lawyer behind him.