Inviting infrequent attenders to attend for a health check: costs and benefits

A total of 114 patients who had not attended their general practitioner in the previous three years were identified by searching a sample of 1488 records (12.8% of the practice list). An invitation for a health check was sent, in keeping with the requirements of the new general practitioner contract. Seventeen out of 94 patients invited (18%) attended. Surgery staff spent 28 hours and the practice doctors spent 15 hours on arranging and carrying out the investigation. The group responding to the invitation were in general healthy; the only new finding of remediable disease was mild hypertension in one man. The smoking rate and alcohol consumption rate were low. Of 13 patients who needed tetanus immunization, five refused it and five failed to return. All three women who were overdue for a cervical smear failed to return to have it done. It is concluded that screening infrequent attenders is not an efficient use of medical time.