Real Accounts of Unnecessary Medical Care

We are all patients. Which means we have all experienced unnecessary medical care and its consequences. Did you know physicians estimate 21 percent of medical care is unnecessary?  This translates to $265 billion dollars a year spent on care that is not needed and often harms the very patients it is meant to help.  

In an effort to highlight the greater impact of wasteful medical care, Practicing Wisely™ and The Strangers Project have joined forces to share real, hand-written stories from everyday people about their experiences with both appropriate and inappropriate care. To date, we have collected over 75 stories from around the country on various issues relating to inappropriate care, including over-prescribing opioids, unnecessary medical procedures, and much more. In light of Patient Safety Awareness Week, here is an excerpt of the larger collection.