Too many tests? Routine checks getting second look

Yaima Milian, left, who is in a nursing residency program, looks at an EKG readout with more experienced nurse Marvin Rosete, whom she is paired with in the program (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Recent headlines offered a fresh example of how the health care system subjects people to too many medical tests — this time research showing millions of older women don’t need their bones checked for osteoporosis nearly so often.

Chances are you’ve heard that many expert groups say cancer screening is overused, too, from mammograms given too early or too often to prostate cancer tests that may not save lives. It’s not just cancer. Now some of the nuts-and-bolts tests given during checkups or hospital visits are getting a second look, too — things like routine EKGs to check heart health, or chest X-rays before elective surgery. Next under the microscope may be women’s dreaded yearly pelvic exams.