Choosing Wisely — The Politics and Economics of Labeling Low-Value Services
As far as the evidence on effectiveness is uncertain in some cases, somebody has to put an alert on the population. Asymetric information is always moving towards some bias and favour those with better position. This is the moment for an independent body to disseminate information towards patients. In NEJM you'll find an article about Choosing wisely, an initiative already explained in this blog. An interesting objective, although the means could be controversial. Maybe professional associations are not in best position to assume such task. Kassirer (once again) reflected many years ago the relationships with industry and their conflicts of interest. My suggestion would be independent agencies, NICE style. They should inform population about what works, and they are already doing it.
