ArticlePloS one2020
Is it really always only the others who are to blame? GP's view on medical overuse. A questionnaire study.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- How defensive medicine is defined in European medical literature: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Global under- and overprescribing of drugs-a scoping review.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Addressing the overuse-underuse paradox in healthcare.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2025Article
- 'Harm? I don't think so!': medical overuse from the perspective of allied health professionals in Germany - a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Perceptions of the usefulness of Choosing Wisely among general practitioners in Norway: a nationwide survey.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the German living guideline "Protection against the Overuse and Underuse of Health Care" - an online survey among German GPs.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- 'The health care system is more like a business'-medical overuse from the patients' perspective in Germany: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Perspectives on low-value care and barriers to de-implementation among primary care physicians: a multinational survey.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Enablers and barriers to a quaternary prevention approach: a qualitative study of field experts.BMJ open · 2024Article
- What do people know and think about medical overuse? an online questionnaire study in Germany.PloS one · 2024Article
- Policy Options for Reducing Defensive Medicine Behaviors: A Multi-Method Study.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2024Article
- Implementing digital mental health interventions at scale: one-year evaluation of a national digital CBT service in Ireland.International journal of mental health systems · 2023Article
- Organizational influences on the use of low-value care in primary health care - a qualitative interview study with physicians in Sweden.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2022Article
- Development and validation of psychological status questionnaire for parents of infantile hemangiomas.Translational pediatrics · 2021Article
- Unnecessary ultrasounds in children with undescended testes: An interrogation of the impact of the Choosing Wisely campaigns and clinical practice guidelines.Paediatrics & child health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedical overuse is a common problem in health care. Preventing unnecessary medicine is one of the main tasks of General Practice, so called quaternary prevention. We aimed to capture the current opinion of German General Practitioners (GPs) to medical overuse.
methodsA quantitative online study was conducted. The questionnaire was developed based on a qualitative study and literature search. GPs were asked to estimate prevalence of medical overuse as well as to evaluate drivers and solutions of medical overuse. GPs in Bavaria were recruited via email (750 addresses). A descriptive data analysis was performed. Additionally the association between doctors' attitudes and (1) demographic variables and (2) interest in campaigns against medical overuse was assessed.
resultsResponse rate was 18%. The mean age was 54 years, 79% were male and 68% have worked as GP longer than 15 years. Around 38% of medical services were considered as medical overuse and nearly half of the GPs (47%) judged medical overuse to be the more important problem than medical underuse. Main drivers were seen in "patients´ expectations" (76%), "lack of a primary care system" (61%) and "defensive medicine" (53%), whereas "disregard of evidence/guidelines" (15%) and "economic pressure on the side of the doctor" (13%) were not weighted as important causes. Demographic variables did not have an important impact on GPs´ response pattern. GPs interested in campaigns like "Choosing Wisely" showed a higher awareness for medical overuse, although these campaigns were only known by 50% of the respondents. DISCUSSION: Medical overuse is an important issue for GPs. Main drivers were searched and found outside their own sphere of responsibility. Campaigns as "Choosing Wisely" seem to have a positive effect on GPs attitude, but knowledge is still limited.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.