Is the periodic health examination worthwhile?

Area of Science:

• Preventive Medicine
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Periodic health examinations have been a practice since the early 1900s for health maintenance and disease control.
• The cost-effectiveness of these examinations has been consistently challenged, with some physicians advocating for medical care only when symptoms are present.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a balanced assessment of the value of periodic health examinations.
• To explore how defining examination content, methods, target individuals, and frequency impacts effectiveness.
• To highlight the role of health hazard or risk factor analysis in improving examination programming.

Main Methods:

• Review of historical practices and current challenges in periodic health examinations.
• Analysis of the impact of specific examination procedures on different demographic groups.
• Examination of the development and application of health hazard or risk factor analysis methods.

Main Results:

• The effectiveness of periodic health examinations is contingent upon the specific procedures, the individuals examined, and the examination frequency.
• Health hazard or risk factor analysis methods developed over the past decade enable more targeted and efficient examination programming.
• These methods identify population subgroups most likely to have presymptomatic disease.

Conclusions:

• Refinement of risk-related examination methods is expected to solidify the value of periodic health examinations.
• Optimized periodic health examinations can become a fundamental tool in medical practice.
• Targeted screening based on risk factors enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of preventive healthcare.