Wasted medical dollars

A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion healthcare system are wasted, says USA Today columnist Kevin Pho. Pho notes that while medical errors, inefficient use of information technology and poorly managed chronic diseases were all cited as factors, dwarfing these reasons is doctors practicing "defensive medicine." In this practice, doctors order (often unneccesary) tests to avoid the threat of a malpractice lawsuit.