Introduction

Overtreatment involves unnecessary medical tests or procedures, while overmedication refers to unnecessary or excessive use of medicines. Both increase healthcare costs and risks.

Causes

• Excessive diagnostic tests and routine health packages.
• Fragmented specialist care and duplicate prescriptions.
• Polypharmacy, especially among older adults.
• Commercial incentives and insurance-related moral hazard.
• Patient expectations and defensive medicine.

Implications

• Adverse drug reactions and unnecessary procedures.
• Higher out-of-pocket expenditure.
• Diversion of resources from essential primary healthcare.
• Increased health inequalities and reduced trust in doctors.

Way Forward:

• Strengthen primary healthcare and family physician services.
• Promote regular prescription reviews and supervised deprescribing.
• Develop evidence-based guidelines through ICMR and medical associations.
• Reform provider-payment systems to discourage unnecessary interventions.
• Introduce clinical audits and rational prescribing practices.

Conclusion

India must shift from volume-driven to value-based healthcare, ensuring that every test, procedure and medicine provides meaningful benefit to the patient.