Patients often place a great deal of faith and trust in both their
physicians and the health care system to appropriately diagnose and
treat their ailments and suggest interventions to screen for and
prevent future disease. Unfortunately, this faith creates a patient
population that is vulnerable to over testing and over treating. Some
of this is driven by a health care system that is plagued by financial
greed, and some of this is driven by patients wanting the latest and
greatest medical treatments and technology, especially in the U.S.
(Frances, 2013). As a result, patients are subject to unnecessary
testing, unproven methods of treatment, and unethical practices
(College Affairs, 2019).
The provision of medical care that is not needed wastes valuable
medical resources and contributes to the skyrocketing costs of
medical care (Frances, 2013). Physicians often place orders for tests
that follow established care sets instead of determining what is
actually best for the patient (Frances, 2013). Meanwhile, the patient
blindly follows the physician’s guidance because they do not
understand that more is not always better. One of the most
vulnerable populations to blind faith in medical science is cancer
patients who are often asked to participate in experimental
treatment protocols without fully understanding the risks (Kvittigen,
