[jdietrich]

That's absolutely true, but we often forget that all medical interventions have to be balanced in terms of risk and benefit. Most patients expect treatment when they go to their doctor, even when the only available treatment options are marginally effective and carry significant risk.

For a variety of reasons, healthcare professionals find it very difficult to refuse treatment. We tolerate the risks of treatment far more readily than we tolerate the risks of watchful waiting, which leads to a lot of bad clinical decisions.

From the opiate epidemic to antibiotic resistance to rampant increases in insurance rates, overtreatment is a slow-burning crisis in healthcare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnecessary_health_care