> By what measure is "any individual more likely to be harmed" determined?
Do mammograms detect cancer? Yes.
Do mammograms lead to reductions in all cause mortality? Probably not, no.
There's a bunch of stuff where we use proxy measures when we should be using different measures (all cause mortality; days lost to disability; QALYs).
> However, I don't think consumer access to medical screening equipment is similar. In fact, I think that empowering consumers and patients to be more in control of their medical decisions is vastly net-positive, and as the article points out, the healthcare industry is going to need to adapt to it.
You get a scan. It shows a lump. What do you do? Most people say "get a biopsy", which is ok if we're saving lives or reducing days lost to disability, but if we're not doing those and we're causing harm then giving power to people really just means hurting them.
Here's a nice infographic: https://twitter.com/Jia_Luo/status/951985691772293120
18 deaths vs 21 deaths, and that's important, but look at the extra harm caused.