The 45 overused medical procedures costing Americans billions

Nine U.S. medical specialty societies representing 374,000 physicians have put together a list of "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question."

As outlined in a March 2010 American Thinker article by Richard Baehr, many experts think the real problem with America's health care system is the inherently expensive cost of goods and services, as opposed to direct access to quality medical care. And as the Washington Post notes, wasteful medicine costs the U.S. health care system an estimated $700 billion annually.

The list of 45 "evidence-based recommendations" are posted on the site Choosing Wisely, and the participating physicians say they hope that by educating both doctors and patients they can work toward both improving quality of medical care and simultaneously reducing costs by "eliminating unnecessary tests and procedures."

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