Patients were being encouraged today by senior doctors to take a “Bran test” when seeking medical treatment.
The test is the latest stage in a campaign by the Academy of the Medical Royal Colleges to list and highlight treatments and tests of limited value.
According to the Bran test concept, patients should ask about the Benefits, Risks and Alternatives to a treatment.
Today the Academy was due to publish a list of 50 procedures, tests and treatments, which, it says, may have little value or could be replaced by a simpler alternative.
Three years ago it published its first list of 40 medical interventions of questionable value – although the list triggered significant controversy.
Today’s list proposes reducing GP visits by allowing contraceptive pills to be given on prescription for a year. It says everyone should be advised to take vitamin D supplements during the winter – rather than leaving it to GPs and pharmacists to identify the frail and elderly who need them.
It advises against prescribing antibiotics to the terminally ill as they can cause discomfort without prolonging life.
The list includes not using X-rays for low back pain and not using MRI scans for migraine. It also advises against relying on memory tests for dementia and avoiding the use of antipsychotic drugs. And it suggests that cataract operations be performed on both eyes to avoid repeat admissions.
Professor Dame Sue Bailey, from the Academy, said: “This is all about enfranchising patients and giving them a sense of ownership of the way they are treated.
“Too often patients just accept what a doctor is telling them without question. We want to change that dynamic and make sure the decision about what treatment is taken up is only made when the patient is fully informed of all the consequences.
“Too often there’s pressure on both the patient and the doctor to do something, when doing nothing might often be the best course of action.”
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