As technology and medical knowledge progress, doctors and patients have access to many more screening tools. But with the availability of more tests, also comes the risk of overtesting and overdiagnosis, worries health care researcher, Alan Cassels and doctors Wendy Levinson and Eric Bohm.

They explain why more medical tests and treatments do not necessarily add value to care, how they can hurt our health care system — and what can be done to reduce the number of non-essential tests and treatments.

Alan Cassels is a pharmaceutical policy researcher, author and expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca.

Eric Bohm is an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca and an Orthopaedic Surgeon with the Concordia Joint Replacement Group in Winnipeg Manitoba.  He is also an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Bohm is helping to implement Choosing Wisely Canada in Manitoba.

Dr. Wendy Levinson is Chair of Choosing Wisely Canada and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees, which created the Choosing Wisely campaign in the United States.

Interview by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski