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When a doctor ordered a routine prostate screening for an 80-year-old man -; as doctors often do -; a dramatic yellow alert popped up on the electronic health record with dire warnings.
<p>Doctors routinely orderunnecessary screening tests for older adults -- including PSA for men and urinary tract infections for women -- that can result in unnecessary care and serious health problems. Researchers tested a yellow alert on electronoic health records to discourage doctors from ordering these tests. It worked. The approach significantly reduced unnecessary and potentially harmful screeiings. </p>