The Conversation

Great expectations: our naive optimism about medical care

Author: The Conversation

Most people overestimate the benefits and underestimate the harms of medical intervention. Barbara M./Flickr, CC BY

“It might do me some good and it won’t hurt to give it a go.”

How often have you heard a phrase like this?

Most people have naïve optimism about medical care. That’s the finding of a systematic review of all...

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