Are annual physicals necessary?: 6 pros and cons

Practice Management

The medical community is divided on whether patients need to see their physicians every year for an annual checkup, according to USA Today.

Here are a list of pros of routine checkups:

 

1. They facilitate an enhanced provider/patient relationship.

 

2. Patients receive tests including colon scanner tests and cholesterol tests. Physicians can also screen patients for depression and alcohol abuse.

 

3. Annual check-ups give patients a reason to see their doctor, which decreases gaps in care and prevention.

 

A list of cons include:

 

1. There is a lack of evidence showing annual check-ups decrease deaths and illnesses.

 

2. Annual checkups take away a physician's time for patients who are sick.

 

3. Patients waste money. With nearly one-third of U.S. adults getting checkup a year, annual check-ups costs a total of $10 billion annually.

 

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