Screening & Checks
Health checks at different ages
What is worth doing changes by decade, and knowing what applies now prevents both over-testing and missed opportunities.
Screening & Checks
Which tests are worth having, at what age, and what they cost.
Screening & Checks
Overdiagnosis, and why more medicine is not always better
Detecting disease that would never have caused harm is a real and measurable phenomenon with real costs.
Screening & Checks
Family history and what to do with it
A well-collected family history changes screening, and it is free, quick and almost never gathered properly.
Screening & Checks
Kidney and liver function tests explained
Two of the most commonly abnormal results on routine bloods, and two of the most commonly misinterpreted.
Screening & Checks
Bone density, fracture risk and what prevents it
Hip fracture is one of the most expensive and life-changing events in older age, and much of the risk is modifiable.
Screening & Checks
Mental health screening and getting help
Common mental health conditions are treatable, access routes are more varied than most people realise, and cost is not always the barrier it seems.
Screening & Checks
Cancer symptoms worth acting on
Delay in presentation is the main modifiable factor in outcome, and the list of symptoms that warrant an appointment is short.
Screening & Checks
Vaccination for adults
Adult immunisation is the most cost-effective preventive intervention available and the most neglected.
Screening & Checks
The annual check-up: what is worth doing
The routine yearly physical has surprisingly weak evidence, and the components that matter can be listed on a postcard.
Screening & Checks
Diabetes risk and what to do about it early
Prediabetes is a genuine warning with a good evidence base for reversal, and the intervention is not a drug.
Screening & Checks
Cholesterol, statins and the numbers behind them
The decision to treat is about overall risk rather than a single number, and the medication costs almost nothing.
Screening & Checks
Blood pressure: the cheapest thing you can do
It is silent, extremely common, and the treatment is inexpensive — which makes ignoring it the most expensive option.
Screening & Checks
Which screening tests are actually worth having
A screening programme has to clear a high bar to exist, and a great deal of what is sold as screening never gets near it.