Patients' views on health screening in general practice

This paper describes the reactions of 159 patients to the way in which they were invited to participate in a health screening programme and their views on the screening appointment itself. It was found that those invited by letter, rather than opportunistically during a routine consultation, thought their appointment time harder to keep. A group of patients identified as relatively infrequent consulters were less likely to believe that the invite showed the practice to be interested in their health. However, overall the patients' perceptions of both the way in which they were invited and the screening appointment itself were found to be very positive and their satisfaction ratings high.