Giantaxe

In a fee for service system, there's a lot of financial incentive for annual physicals to continue.

scrubbedexpat091

True.

Suppose doctors make a decent penny or 2 off them.

scrubbedexpat099

I was told that tests are good money earners, I assume regular inspections both generate business and are a solid income.

Pulaski

​​​​​​​They're not in Canada?

Pulaski

​​​​​​​I think they're seen as good marketing, which is my GP usually seems to be a strange mix of surprised and disappointed when he discovers, again, that there is no service he can sell me.

scrubbedexpat091

Not in BC, can't say about other provinces.

"preventive services and screening tests not supported by evidence of medical effectiveness (for example, routine annual "complete" physical examinations, whole body CT scans, prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests);"

vespucci

It seems that some young healthy people are given a lot of unnecessary tests every single year, and it's wrongly concluded that annual physicals generally are no use.
In the article quoted earlier it says:

Is an Annual Physical Exam Really Necessary? Time
Even for older adults, many experts say that if you’re following the guidelines laid out by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—guidelines concerning the right age and frequency for cholesterol checks, blood lipid tests, mammograms and other screening services—you don’t need to worry about annual physicals.

That's what annual physicals are for, aren't they? You don't get an appointment with your doctor to say that you want a cholesterol check, then another appointment to say that you want a ......test, etc., you go for your annual physical and have the necessary tests done.

scrubbedexpat099

I do go and get my teeth looked at but I guess that is more maintenance, I never used to certainly not in the UK.

A lot of that is telling me what to do, what I am missing. I think I have been lucky, some people I know have spent a boatload on their teeth and are much better than me in looking after them.

Interesting aside, Doctors where I am 100 plus years ago also advertised their tooth pulling capability, apparently teeth infections was a killer.

Giantaxe

It's an incredibly expensive way - in both cost and doctors' time - to get blood tests done. I always get an email reminder from my doctor to get lipid blood work done.

For many, recommended mammogram screening is now 24 months.

Hotscot

Two fillings last week. Old metal ones out, new white ones in. I declined the numbing injections. Doesn't really bother me.

Says he normally charges more for masochists.

Rete

Standard blood and urine tests as part of an annual medical was what probably saved my life 20 years ago when the test showed I had Type 2 Diabetes. At the same time, a routine EKG found an abnormal heart beat which lead to having extensive testing including a nuclear cardiogram. All that was discovered is that my heart is fine and the beat which is considered abnormal is normal for me and not a health issue. 25 years ago finally having a much put off baseline mammogram at age 41 was what found my breast cancer. I'm an advocate of annual routine medicals and routine blood, urine, prostate, mammo and pap tests for all patients.

The new guidelines are to save money and I understand that some tests are unnecessary but the above mentioned tests do show what is happening within your system and any irregularities can be dealt with if found. Telling a woman that she only needs a pap test once every two years can be a death sentence to a woman with cervical cancer which can be found with a ten minute pap test. Telling a woman that she only needs a mammogram once every two years after the age of 60 can be a death sentence as many breast cancers are fast growing cancers and two years waiting for a diagnosis can mean that the cancer when found it stage 3 or 4. Not doing a prostate exam on a man can have the same devastating results. I have lost two very good and dear male friends to this cancer and both were only in their early 50s. Today I know 1 how is dealing with this and he is in his 60s.

As for dental, I hate novacaine and refuse it for all fillings. It's not the money aspect for me but rather I hate the needle, which I find very painful, and hate how you feel while your mouth is numb and when it wears off. Drilling doesn't hurt normally so I prefer to go without.

Steerpike

It does indeed ... but what I'm now realizing is, there seems to be little definition of what that includes. Now, there are going to be logical differences for age, sex, and possibly prior history, but still - there ought to be a pretty standard definition for what is and is not included.

I'm really not that interested in the 'ear inspection', throat inspection, etc but - as a 60-year-old male, I am quite concerned about any prostate issues and I am just not understanding why she didn't do the digital test. Also - the PSA test - is that a blood test? She did order a set of blood tests, and the results (pages and pages of them) all look good but I didn't see a reference to PSA; I'll have to take another look.

Pulaski

​​​​​​​PSA = Prostate Specific Antigen, yes, a blood test, and is an indicator of prostate health (lower is better), but isn't a certain test. The finger teat isn't necessarily done every year, and may be suggested as a follow-up if your PSA test is less than ideal.

Steerpike

Just went through all the blood test results; no reference to PSA. So I sent a second message to the physician asking how come. I'm going to pursue this one!

Is a Urine test not much use / not typical?

Giantaxe

It's a controversial test given that PSA is often elevated when there is no prostate cancer. I do get it done yearly.

"The US Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) found that nearly 80% of positive PSA screenings were false,"

https://prostate.net/articles/what-a...h-the-psa-test

Diabetes, blood in urine etc...