Low Value Care

Low value health care services are certain treatments, diagnostic tests, and screenings where the risk of harm or cost exceeds the likely benefit for patients. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, an estimated 10% to 20% of health care spending in the United States is considered low value. This analysis has the potential to help minimize low value care in Colorado by identifying which services are occurring most often across different regions in the state, and the impact those services are having on patients and health care spending.