{"id":8663,"date":"2017-07-31T05:29:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T10:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=8663"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:09:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:09:41","slug":"health-screening-offers-bother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/31\/health-screening-offers-bother","title":{"rendered":"Health Screening Offers: Should You Bother?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like most people, you\u2019ve received one of those brochures in the mail with a headline screaming something like \u201cHealth Screening<\/a> Can Save Your Life!\u201d They\u2019re filled with photos of happy, healthy people on golf courses or with their grandchildren and are liberally sprinkled with quotes like, \u201cDan\u2019s alive today because an ultrasound revealed his aneurysm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t ask me how I know (I just do) that in today\u2019s Comments section somebody\u2019s going to tell me their Uncle Frank is alive today because he had one of these screenings.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s walk through it. You learn from the brochure that a mobile health clinic will be in your area on a certain date, offering a prepackaged menu of tests to detect early cardiovascular disease for one low price. But there\u2019s more! You can also buy an \u201cadvanced package\u201d for few more dollars, and as long as you\u2019re already scheduling, why not?<\/p>\n
You may idly wonder why it\u2019s cash only, no insurance accepted, but, hey, you\u2019re getting\u00a0all those tests for one low price<\/em>\u00a0so it\u2019s probably a bargain. The answer is that health insurance companies, who don\u2019t like paying for much of anything related to health care these days, will definitely not cover tests they think you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n
Scanning the brochure, you notice the event, named something cheery like \u201cSummertime Health Screening,\u201d is sponsored by your local hospital. Remembering the good job the hospital did with your husband\u2019s hernia, you think this all must really be on the up-and-up.<\/p>\n
My opinion: recycle the brochure while you\u2019re ahead<\/strong>\nToss it and spend the $179 (basic) or $379 (advanced) on something fun, like a day at a water park or a weekend walking getaway. Interestingly, this very suggestion, though phrased somewhat differently, aligns with that of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) on the issue of direct-to-consumer testing, which is what these brochures are all about.<\/p>\n
A piece on this subject\u00a0appeared in\u00a0JAMA<\/em><\/a>, the ACC writing in part:\u00a0Other than assessing blood pressure and serum cholesterol, being attentive to diabetes and promoting a healthy weight with regular exercise, we do not recommend broad and untargeted screening.<\/em><\/p>\n
The\u00a0JAMA<\/em>\u00a0article specifically addresses widespread direct-to-consumer screening by a company called HealthFair. The whole idea of such testing has come under a lot of scrutiny, mainly because of misrepresentation of facts and questionable ethical tie-ins with hospitals. (Parenthetically, my own idea of a \u201cfair\u201d is oriented more toward Tilt-A-Whirls and deep fried elephant ears than assembly lines of worried looking people getting their aortas and carotids scanned.)<\/p>\n
The usual tests offered in the basic screening package are:<\/p>\n