Health Screening

censuspro

I´m considering going for a health screening but not sure which of the providers to use. The average cost appears to be €500, would this be worthwhile doing or should I get some blood tests done at my local medical centre?

Any ideas appreciated.

locum-motion

€500 for your "Health Screening"
€50 (ish) for a visit to your GP to discuss any tests that might be required (and as far as I know, the tests themselves are included. At least, I've never been charged any extra for blood tests), any worries you might have, etc.

I know which I'd be going for!

AmcD

I am not sure that these executive health screenings are a good Idea. I am on the receiving end of the results of these screenings. People seem to be paying eye-watering amounts to get a lot of tests that they don't need. The end result is always the same- if there is any slight abnormality or a worrying result, the advice is always to speak to your GP.

People come in quite worried about very minor abnormalities in blood results e.g. a slightly raised cholesterol.
My main issue with the centres who offer these screenings is that they are willing to accept a large amount of money for the tests, but feel no obligation to follow up on any of the results.

As locum-motion posted, you could pay your GP for a check-up and then get focused investigations depending on your medical history.

0lddog

OP, FWIW if you have VHI health insurance, many of their plans include for "cardiovascular risk assessment, type 2 diabetes screening and colon cancer screening" every two years at no extra cost.

I'm with VHI and recently went to them for this after the GP that I was with at the time said he did not offer FOBT or FIT CRC tests ( there is a very strong history of CRC in my family ).

While very basic, the screening did :

- show up one simple issue for which my GP had never checked.
- enable me to identify and avoid by a simple change of diet an issue that had, er, dogged me, since my late teens.

Of course, having such fine bubbly young ladies check my blood pressure did lead to a certain amount of clinical error :-).

HTH

Olddog

eyescreamcone

Servicing my car will normally cost around €200 - €250 per year.

If you are over 40, should you not ensure a good check up of yourself to a standard as thorough as you would give your vehicle?!

I go for health screening every 2 years - cost €500ish.
Very good for checking for any cardio problems (cardio stress test).
This is prevalent in my family's history.

sam34

the point is that the GP can do the screening for a significantly cheaper price than the so-called executive health screening clinics. plus, those clinics will send you to the GP to deal with any abnormalities that show up anyway, so why not cut out the middleman and just deal with the GP.

RobFowl

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Very good for checking for any cardio problems (cardio stress test).
This is prevalent in my family's history.

There is no convincing evidence that cardio stress tests have any real value in screening for heart disease in asymptomatic patients.

It's impressive looking but is neither sensitive or specific enough to be used as part of a routine health check.

Case of impressing people with flashy machinery I'm afraid.

eyescreamcone

RobFowl wrote: »

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Very good for checking for any cardio problems (cardio stress test).
This is prevalent in my family's history.

There is no convincing evidence that cardio stress tests have any real value in screening for heart disease in asymptomatic patients.

It's impressive looking but is neither sensitive or specific enough to be used as part of a routine health check.

Case of impressing people with flashy machinery I'm afraid.

Dr. RobFowl, what tests would you prescribe?

RobFowl

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Dr. RobFowl, what tests would you prescribe?

A good history including lifestyle, diet, cigarettes/alcohol, exercise/activity levels and thorough physical exam particularly blood pressure, weight/height and
Blood tests including fasting Cholesterol (Hdl/Ldl) and triglycerides, glucose, fbc, U&E, Tft's, Lft's, ferritin possibly Psa and crp.
A resting ECG is of limited value but relatively inexpensive and IMO worth doing.
Any further tests would really depend on risks or symptoms elicited from the history and exam.

These sound less glamorous that some of the higher tech tests used in some of these "executive" type health checks but are IMO as good if not better.
Stress tests have there place but are really a test for people with chest pain to see if it is of cardiac origin rather than a screening test.
Lifestyle is probably one of the most important factors as it is something we can change and is why I see it full history taking as being probably the most important part of a check up.
FOB tests are probably underused and there is an argument they should be part of a routine check certainly in certain age groups.
Blood tests are available through most GP's and the Healthlink project means the results are often available online to GP's with in a very short time-frame.

I am not an opponent at all of routine check ups and in fact I think they are hugely important. Preventative medicine is something we don't do enough of and would save lives, reduce morbidity and save the state a fortune (medium to long term though !) if it was more widely practised.
I am biased (am a GP) but feel that your GP is the best place to get these health checks. Good primary care should include it and hopefully in the brave new world of universal health care I hope it's given the priority it deserves.

I do have an issue with some of the healthchecks advertised by certain institutions as my personal opinion is that they seem designed to generate the greatest profit from high tech equipment which is really designed for a different purpose (the Stress test being the prime example).