Medical overuse: causes, consequences and levers to control it. A narrative review

Medical overuse is defined as any health care procedure dispensed without conclusive medical bases or when benefits do not outweigh the risks. Although medical overuse has been studied in the literature for about ten years, the concept has been known for almost a century. The main consequences of these unnecessary prescriptions are adverse effects on patients and costs of cares. They are many causes: from disease mongering to limits of evidence-based medicine, through inadequate management of uncertainty and technical progress with improved sensitivity of exams. Ways to reduce this medical overuse are developing, such as shared decision tools, but more research is still needed.