How to Approach Your Annual Health Screening

We all know it is important to see our primary care physician once a year to keep tabs on our health and risk factors for serious conditions or diseases. But what is the best way to approach your annual health screening? What tests should you have, and why? Here are five tips from a medical professional:

 1) Know thyself

Dr. Steven Lu, co-founder and chief medical officer of the preventive health startup Everlab, recommends starting with a self-audit of your traits and medical histories, including  any family history of disease and personal details such as past surgeries, illnesses and treatments. Lu says this information, particularly when paired with epidemiological studies at the population and group level, can help you identify your greatest health risks and therefore which tests you should prioritize…

2) Start with the basics

Reflecting on your personal and family medical history will provide a clearer view of the biggest threats to your health. But before you rush ahead and pay for an expensive test, Lu says it’s worth talking to your GP about the health tests that are covered by insurance…

Common blood tests include: 

• Blood glucose test (if you are at risk of or have symptoms of diabetes)
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• Full blood count (to check for blood disorders, and signs of infection or other conditions by looking at the      size, shape and colour of your platelets and red and white blood cells)
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• HbA1c test (a test used to diagnose type 2 diabetes that measures your average blood glucose levels over      the past two or three months)
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• Kidney function tests
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• Liver function tests

3) Consider more advanced tests

You may want to weigh the risks and benefits of doing more comprehensive testing. For example, Lu recommends getting your apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein (a) tested and doing a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein test, particularly if you have a family history of heart disease… It may also be worth trying to get a colonoscopy…Other tests that Lu suggests could be useful include:

• A DEXA (dual x-ray absorptiometry) scan– This is a non-invasive imaging test that can measure bone density, body fat and lean muscle mass. It can tell you whether your fitness program is delivering results…
• Genetic screening test
  – Some comprehensive DNA tests can help you understand your risk of developing heart disease or cancer. For example, a woman could find out whether she has mutated BRCA genes that significantly increase her risk of developing breast cancer…

4) Understand the risks

All medical tests and procedures come with risks – including the possibility of wasting your time and money – so it’s important to weigh these up against any potential benefits before you proceed.

The three main types of harm from screening tests are false negatives (being falsely reassured there’s no sign of disease), false positives (being informed of a problem when there isn’t one), and overdiagnosis (when you get a diagnosis that causes more harm than good)…

5) Act on the evidence

Finally, Lu says a preventive health test is only useful if it delivers information that you can act on to lower your risk and improve your health. This means you must be prepared to take subsequent action to unlock a test result’s full benefits…

You can read the full article here.

It is also helpful to review your health insurance policy and understand what it and is not covered, what you can expect your out of pocket cost to be, and of course if your primary care physician is in network. Knowing before you go will help you chart the best path forward with your doctor once you get to your appointment.