Quaternary prevention

Quaternary prevention is the term used to avoid unnecessary medical interventions or Übermedikalisierungen.

The principle of " primum non nocere " is a cornerstone of medicine. The task to avoid the proliferation of medical interventions, is mainly for family medicine of central importance.

Concept

Quaternary prevention means the prevention of Übermedikalisierung and useless medicine. Your goal is to identify patients who are at risk of being exposed to an excess of medical measures to them may do more harm than good, and to offer acceptable alternatives. The concept of quaternary prevention was first described by Marc Jamoulle 1986. 1999, it was recognized by the International Classification Committee of Wonca and published in the Wonca Dictionary of General / Family Practice 2003.

Means

• Narrative Based Medicine is the best means of implementation and means to adjust the medically Possible the individually required and desired. It requires a strong and sustainable relationship with the patient and their confidence in medical sincerity and medical knowledge.

• Evidence Based Medicine is another means: Knowing realistic predictive values ​​of diagnostic tests and expected effect sizes of benefits and harms of treatment and early detection measures. This only provides the possibility to refrain from unnecessary medical interventions.