Annual Physical Exam: Unneeded Expense? - Disease Prevention and Wellness Information to Improve Your Health on MedicineNet.com: "An annual physical exam is a tradition for many U.S. adults, but it is not always necessary, according to a new study. 'I'm not advocating we should get rid of these visits,' says researcher Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a policy analyst at RAND Corp.
Rather, the preventive services and tests ordered at these exams that are actually necessary often can be received -- and often already are -- at other visits and times, says Mehrotra. The study is published in the Sept. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine."
The annual physical exam in the fee-for-service, non-capitated model is a method for a guaranteed (annual) income. Why "annual?" Why not every 6 months? Why not every 3 months? Why not every month? Why not every week? Why not every day? In the current environment, a disease-specific or risk-specific approach may be more appropriate in tailoring the patients' specific needs. The evidence, even among non-capitated models of healthcare delivery, is suggestive of abandoning the non-thinking, "routine" "baseline" money-making schemes. It may have worked in the old days when we did not have the evidence but we actually are in the 21st century.
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