--- title: Sharable™Blog - How to Handle Unnecessary Medical Treatment description: Health Insurance Is Broken, and Too Expensive! So, Sharable™ decided to change the way Americans finance and reserve for Healthcare. Our mission is to advance the adoption of Healthcare Sharing by making it work better and feel better than insurance. Our platform, innovations and services enable existing Healthcare Sharing Organizations, as well as new Start-Ups, serve their unique communities more effectively. In recent years, and during a time of crisis in the American healthcare system, Healthcare Sharing has grown to be an affordable and credible alternative to the high cost of health insurance. So, Sharable™ decided that someone should develop the Nation’s first and only cloud-based platform (Sharing as a Service™) that fully integrates the Sharing Value Chain. Our Platform is built upon P2P Sharing Protocols and patent-pending innovations that advance the concept of Healthcare Sharing, while enabling existing Healthcare Sharing Organizations (HCSOs) and other large member-based organizations to launch and develop high-performing Sharing Programs. The Sharable™ Team has over 100 Years of combined Healthcare Sharing experience and have developed, managed and/or assisted some of the Nation’s largest Healthcare Sharing Organizations. Much of that experience has been codified in the Sharing as a Service™platform to ensure that Sharing Organizations can build highly scalable programs that are regulatory compliant, while creating a Member Experience that is uniquely different than insurance by leveraging the human, social, and community aspects of Healthcare Sharing. image: https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/Sharable-blog-post-1.jpg --- [![Sharable](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Sharable_January2022/images/logo.svg "Sharable")](https://blog.sharable.life/) - [Platform](https://www.sharable.life/platform) - [App Center Turn Prospects into Members in 15 minutes or less.](https://www.sharable.life/platform#app) - [Member Center Serve Members, while driving Community](https://www.sharable.life/platform#member) - [Client Center Manage a fully integrated Sharing Value Chain](https://www.sharable.life/platform#client) - [Virtual Share Exchange® Delineate and inoculate through P2P Sharing](https://www.sharable.life/platform#vse) - [Platform FeaturesDo more through Sharable™](https://www.sharable.life/platform#features) - [Cost Containment](https://www.sharable.life/cost-containment) - [Hybrid RBPContain costs with information and innovation](https://www.sharable.life/cost-containment#rbp) - [Integrated Tele-Health Connect members to doctors in minutes](https://www.sharable.life/cost-containment#telehealth) - [Integrated Pharmacy Direct members to the lowest retail price](https://www.sharable.life/cost-containment#pharmacy) - [Services](https://www.sharable.life/services) - [Build, Operate & Transfer Startup a new Sharing Program](https://www.sharable.life/services#bot) - [Member Development Attract and acquire new members](https://www.sharable.life/services#memberdev) - [Performance Engineering Engineer operational excellence](https://www.sharable.life/services#performance) - [Resources](https://www.sharable.life/services) - [Help Center To Better Server Our Clients](https://sharable.zendesk.com/hc/en-us) - [Sharable Insights (Blog) Insights, Reflections, & Inspirations](https://blog.sharable.life) - [About](https://www.sharable.life/our-team) - [Company Healthcare Sharing Experts](https://www.sharable.life/our-team) - [Contact Us How To Reach Us](https://www.sharable.life/contact-us) [Login](https://sharable.zendesk.com/hc/en-us) ![How to Handle Unnecessary Medical Treatment](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/Sharable-blog-post-1.jpg) ### How to Handle Unnecessary Medical Treatment ![AMPS](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/amps-logo.png) By: Kirk Fallbacher Chief Executive Officer ([AMPS](https://www.amps.com/)) #### **How to Handle Unnecessary Medical Treatment** One of the reasons our healthcare costs continue to rise is the American epidemic of unnecessary medical treatment, which is estimated to be wasting hundreds of billions of dollars each year. This should hit close to home for Americans, who continue to pay higher monthly insurance premiums and larger deductibles for systemic-driven, unneeded care. We see evidence of this all around us, such as annual cervical cancer testing that’s now only recommended every three to five years for patients who do not have genetic predispositions. Another example is when healthy patients are forced to undergo unnecessary lab work before elective surgeries. Or, when a patient gets orthopedic surgery when they may have been better off with physical therapy. The Washington Health Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to making care safe and affordable, is one among many organizations that have conducted studies to prove it. It analyzed insurance claims from 1.3 million patients who received one of 47 tests or services that are considered overused or unnecessary. What they found should make patients and doctors rethink that next referral. In a single year, more than 600,000 patients underwent a treatment they didn’t need, costing an estimated $282 million. More than a third of the money spent on the tests went to unnecessary care, the study found. #### **There Are No Stupid Questions** So, what can we do about these types of unnecessary medical treatments? There’s no easy answer. Sometimes there’s nothing patients can do about it, especially when emergency treatment or urgent care comes into play. Sometimes all you can do as a patient is double check and make sure everything that’s being done is necessary, which starts by asking key questions: - Ask whether you really need the test, procedure, or medication, and whether what’s being recommended will specifically address what’s ailing you or your loved one. - Ask what risks come with treatments and prescriptions. - Ask whether test results tend to be inaccurate or inconclusive, and whether the results could potentially lead to more testing. - Ask whether there are simpler or safer options or alternatives. - Ask what will happen if you choose to wait, or even choose to do nothing with the recommended treatment or medication regimen. - Ask how much it costs, and then compare it with other costs as a conscious and empowered consumer of your healthcare. Asking these types of questions may not only protect your healthcare dollars, but also minimize waste and higher medical costs for all. #### **Second Opinions Could Save Costs** Once you’ve made the informed decision to move forward with your care, it’s critical to get a second opinion before agreeing to any costly or invasive treatment, surgery, or medication. To lower the uncertainty around what’s next, these second opinions help you avoid unnecessary costly procedures, months of missed work, and pain medication usage. If you decide to move forward with the procedure after obtaining a second opinion, make sure it is with a specialized, high-quality care facility, with fair, bundled pricing at contracted rates that lower your out-of-pocket costs. As a cost containment provider, we have a passion for working with healthcare sharing organizations (HCSO) and leaders like Sharable. It’s our mission to help each member’s healthcare dollars go further by ensuring a fair exchange of goods and services for each healthcare dollar spent. By working together as healthcare consumers, we believe we can all improve our healthcare system one treatment at a time. #### **Resources** - Allen, Marshall – Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win - Washington Health Alliance – Report: More than 1 Million Washington Patients Received Unnecessary Tests, Procedures, and Treatments ### Related [![Choosing a Healthcare Sharing Program: An Insider’s Perspective](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/healthcare_sharing_guide.jpeg)](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-an-insiders-perspective) ### [Choosing a Healthcare Sharing Program: An Insider’s Perspective](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-an-insiders-perspective) ![Tony Meggs](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/tony-meggs.png) By: Tony Meggs Nov 28, 2021 [![Arrow](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/icon-read-more.svg) Read More](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-an-insiders-perspective) [![Part 1: Affordability (Why is Healthcare Sharing less expensive?)](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/healthcare_sharing_guide_1.jpg)](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program_part-1-affordability) ### [Part 1: Affordability (Why is Healthcare Sharing less expensive?)](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program_part-1-affordability) ![Tony Meggs](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/tony-meggs.png) By: Tony Meggs Dec 3, 2021 [![Arrow](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/icon-read-more.svg) Read More](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program_part-1-affordability) [![PART 2: CREDIBILITY (What does a “credible” HCSO look like?)](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/healthcare_sharing_guide_2.jpg)](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-part-2-credibility) ### [PART 2: CREDIBILITY (What does a “credible” HCSO look like?)](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-part-2-credibility) ![Robert Baldwin](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/Robert-Baldwin.png) By: Robert Baldwin Dec 5, 2021 [![Arrow](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/Sharable_January2022/Images/icon-read-more.svg) Read More](https://blog.sharable.life/choosing-a-healthcare-sharing-program-part-2-credibility) [![Sharable](https://blog.sharable.life/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Sharable_January2022/images/logo.svg "Sharable")](https://blog.sharable.life/) [2026 Sharable™. 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