Widespread Medical Screening: a good or bad idea?

Although it is generally thought that widespread screening for prevention of diseases is a priority, costs must be considered to establish if over-screening for some medical problems could be happening. The benefits, according to Becker, depend on the gravity of the disease and the gains from early detection. On the other hand, some costs that may prevail over the advantages are the percentage of the population likely to have a disease (if the percentage is low then it may not be wise to screen everyone), psychological burden and risky additional tests and treatments (many tests can give a false positive), and tests can lead to serious complications. To view the complete article posted by Becker, go to The Becker-Posner blog.