WASHINGTON — Doctors should avoid 90 medical procedures that are
performed regularly but often cost too much or do little good,
according to a new list of expert recommendations. The ABIM
Foundation said it released its medical “don’ts” to help doctors
and patients choose wisely and reduce health care costs. Some
examples: Physicians shouldn’t use feeding tubes for patients
with advanced dementia or automatically order CT scans to
evaluate children’s minor head injuries. “More is not always
better,” said Daniel Wolfson, the executive vice president of
the foundation, which is affiliated with the American Board of
Internal Medicine. “The current question is what not to do
because it is wasteful or has side effects.” The nonprofit
American Board of Internal Medicine certifies doctors of
internal medicine and aims to improve the quality of health
care. The list, which combined the recommendations of 17 medical
groups, was released Thursday. The 90 procedures mentioned
involve palliative medicine, neurology, gyne