Underuse occurs when which of the following happens?

• A. Underuse occurs when a service is overused.
• B. Underuse occurs when patients are charged too little.
• C. The absence of health care services that might help prevent, detect, or treat a health care problem early.
• D. Underuse occurs when a provider treats too few patients.

Answer: (C)

Underuse refers to failing to provide health care services that would likely help prevent, detect early, or treat a health problem. This means essential preventive, diagnostic, or treatment services are absent when they should be offered, resulting in missed opportunities to improve health outcomes. The described option captures this precisely: the absence of services that could prevent, detect, or treat a problem early. The other options describe different problems—overuse is giving too much care; charging too little is a price issue; treating too few patients isn't by itself about not providing recommended care.