A couple months ago, Pierini Fitness
read an article in Consumer Reports about medical
screening tests you do and don’t need.
The article reported how some of these tests may be life-saving while
others can be a waste of time and money and pose risks. The subject interested me, so I read the
entire article.
The article went on to say how there
are scores of blood tests, ultrasounds and CT scans for conditions like cancer
and low bone density. And, increasingly,
many of these tests are offered direct-to-consumer, meaning that we can order
and pay for them directly without having to get our physicians or health
insurance carriers approve them in advance.
Since Pierini Fitness pays his own
health insurance premiums because he’s self-employed, he has chosen a
high-deductible health insurance policy in exchange for lower health insurance
premiums. This means a higher annual
deductible so for many years now, he’s shopped around and paid for medical care
and tests without using a physician.
Around twice a year, he has blood work
to assess his cholesterol level, fasting glucose and an assortment of other health
markers depending on what he would like to know. He uses a company named DirectLabs to directly order various
lab tests. After the lab order is
placed, a requisition form is provided that you take to any one of several local
labs, the same ones you’d go to if your doctor ordered the test, where blood is
drawn. Generally, within 48 hours, the
lab results are directly provided to me via online access. I then study and evaluate the lab results.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to read up and learn more if a lab result reading
indicates something is outside what’s considered a normal reference range. Since I’m a meathead and not a medical
doctor, fortunately I have a couple physician acquaintances I can go to if I
have questions.
My next scheduled blood lab work is
coming up in a couple weeks on my birthday. Having lab work done on my birthday is an
annual ritual I’ve been doing for several years now.
Something else I recently had done about
four months ago was a series of screenings performed by a company named Life Line Screening. It offers more than 15 preventative screening
options to detect risks for heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis and
more.
What I had tested used ultrasound to
assess for the existence of any plaque build-up or restriction of blood flow in
my carotid arteries, atrial fibrillation, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral
arterial disease, and osteoporosis.
The Consumer Reports article
indicated that screening has become a big business. While little information is available on how
many dollars are spent nationwide for screenings that are beneficial, one study
found that about 26 percent of individuals had at least one test or treatment
identified by experts as unnecessary.
Most of the overuse in this study related
to 11 services and eight of them were screening tests, perhaps like the ones I
had done. For example, the study
reported that about $40 million alone went for annual electrocardiograms (EKGs)
and other heart screenings for people at low risk for cardiovascular disease
and without symptoms.
This may very well be the case for Pierini Fitness. Based on medical history, recent lab work
measuring cholesterol levels and other health markers including blood pressure,
he meets the definition of being at low risk for cardiovascular disease and is
without symptoms.
Nevertheless, according to the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the second leading
cause of death for individuals aged 55 to 64 years, the age decade of Pierini
Fitness.
Click here to learn more:
Back to the screenings that Pierini Fitness
had done late last year. He paid $149
for the previously mentioned screening tests and learned the following:
Carotid Artery Disease – No evidence was
found of plaque build-up or restrictions of blood flow in my carotid arteries.
Atrial Fibrillation – No atrial fibrillation
was detected.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm – No aneurysm was
detected.
Peripheral Arterial Disease
– Normal results were detected meaning that the blood pressure in my ankles are
as high or higher than the blood pressure in my arms.
Osteoporosis – My bone density
was 0.791 which was rated as moderate risk for bone diminishment. It was recommended that I receive further
evaluation from my primary care physician.
This was a surprise to me and I’m studying what my next course of action
will be. I had judged by bone density to
be adequate.
Consumer Reports concludes its
article by commenting that when recommending screenings, your physician should
generally rely on scientific evidence and guidelines from the government and
expert organizations. Studies have
found, however, many physicians aren’t up-to-date of this evidence of these
guidelines. Therefore, Pierini Fitness
has decided to learn more and raise his medical knowledge bar and be a better-informed medical and health care
consumer.
Were these tests unnecessary? According to the experts who conducted the
study previously mentioned that found many tests done are unnecessary, the
answer may be yes.
But, Pierini Fitness was the consumer
for these tests, paid the $149 and is very satisfied with the information provided
and the assurances received. He’ll
continue to have direct-to-consumer blood lab work and other health screening
procedures done as he chooses because he’s the medical consumer and besides, it’s
his wallet paying the tab.
Pax Domini sit
semper vobiscum
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