overtreatment

noun

over·​treat·​ment ˌō-vər-ˈtrēt-mənt 

: treatment that is excessive or too frequent

especially : too much medical treatment

patients subjected to overtreatment due to new screening guidelines

Examples of overtreatment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For women 40 to 49, the ACP says screening decisions should be made individually with a doctor, because harms like false positives, overdiagnosis and overtreatment may outweigh the uncertain benefits in that age group. —Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026

The guidance states that potential harms in this age group, including false positives, psychological distress, overdiagnosis, overtreatment and radiation exposure, may outweigh the uncertain benefits of screening. —Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026

Patients whose results read high on one platform may be started on thyroid hormone unnecessarily, risking overtreatment complications that include atrial fibrillation and bone loss. —Samantha Bonsack, STAT, 18 Feb. 2026

Medicine has a long history of screening tests that detect disease without improving survival, sometimes causing harm through overdiagnosis and overtreatment. —Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 8 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1904, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overtreatment

• maltreatment
• mistreatment
• posttreatment
• pretreatment
• treatment