Two University of Sydney researchers have come up with five questions they hope will help patients, researchers and doctors more quickly identify whether a new test is useful or results in harmful overdiagnosis.

The problem of ever more sensitive tests and their effects on patients, who face further invasive testing and a disease label, but without real health improvements, is being tackled on a number of fronts.

NPS MedicineWise, in its Choosing Wisely campaign, encourages doctors to think carefully before ordering a test.

This has resulted in a range of ‘do not dos’ produced by specialty colleges to cut the number of unnecessary tests.