Why did you order this test?

Dear Editor, I would like to share my concerns about the increase in the number of laboratory tests in healthcare services in recent years and the harms of unnecessary test orderings. This situation causes significant problems both in the health system and in patient care.Over the past years, a noticeable increase in the number of laboratory tests has been observed. According to a study conducted in Turkey, there was a continuous increase in the use of laboratory tests between 2015 and 2019, and this increase has serious impacts on hospital costs (1). Additionally, a study in 2023 shows that using the ARIMA (Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average) model to forecast laboratory expenditures, it is expected to reach 380 billion Turkish Liras in 2023, 538 billion Turkish Liras in 2024, and 694 billion Turkish Liras in 2025 (2). Various reasons contribute to this increase. One is that advancements in laboratory technologies enable faster and more comprehensive tests, which can also lead to an increase in unnecessary test orderings. Another reason is that physicians tend to order more tests to avoid possible legal issues, which leads to an increase in unnecessary test orderings (3). Unnecessary laboratory test orderings have various adverse effects on the health system and patients.