This is my second part of blog on routine medical check. In the first blog we saw that Why Regular Medical check is not Necessary and any good alternatives?
Why Regular Medical check is not Necessary and any good alternatives?
We see some interesting results
The harmful effects of checkups include
Over diagnosis — diagnosing and treating with no survival benefit.
Turning healthy people into patients, which may affect how they view themselves.
Family physician Dr. Maria Patriquin in Halifax said that a regular check-in might work better than broad checkups. I really like to be able to check in with patients once a year and make sure that we've gone through what are your individual health concerns if you have them, is there anything that we should've been doing that we haven't done?" Patriquin said.
Each year, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) works to fulfill its mission of making evidence-based recommendations on clinical preventive services to empower health care professionals, health care systems, and the American people to make informed decisions about their health and health care. The Task Force makes its recommendations based on comprehensive, systematic reviews and careful assessment of the available medical evidence. Despite these efforts, the USPSTF is not always able to provide recommendations on topics of critical importance due to a lack of available evidence.
The USPSTF strives to make accurate, up-to-date, and relevant recommendations about preventive services in primary care.
For the USPSTF to recommend a service, the benefits of the service must outweigh the harms. The USPSTF focuses on maintenance of health and quality of life as the major benefits of clinical preventive services, and not simply the identification of disease.
Tools for Using Recommendations in Primary Care Practice
The work of the USPSTF has helped establish the importance of including prevention in primary care. There are many tools and resources available to help you implement USPSTF recommendations into practice.
Tools for Using Recommendations in Primary Care Practice
Based on recommendations from the USPSTF, these tools are designed to help primary care clinician’s access information at the point of care.
- Pocket Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2010-2011
- Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS)
- Implementing USPSTF Recommendations Into Health Professions Education
- How to Use I Statements in Clinical Practice
What is Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS)?
The ePSS is an application designed to help primary care clinicians identify clinical preventive services that are appropriate for their patients. Use the tool to search and browse U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on the web or on your PDA or mobile device. To search from your mobile device select from the following devices:
- Android (NEW!)
- BlackBerry
- iPad (NEW!)
- iPhone/iPod touch (NEW!)
- Palm OS/webOS
- Windows Mobile
- Web
New Features
The Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS) application is continually expanding mobile device support. Go to the Products page to review the supported devices and mobile platforms.
Functional enhancements have been made to the Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS) Android, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad applications. Download and upgrade to the latest ePSS to take advantage of these enhancements. This process only takes minutes. Nothing needs to be uninstalled and the installation process is the same as the initial application downloaded.
New features include:
•Bookmark any recommendations or topics for later viewing.
•Save Search feature provides quick access to the routinely viewed recommendations.
•Automatic update of ePSS recommendations data on application launch. (wireless or WiFi internet connection required)
•Print (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad only) or email recommendations or saved search results.
•ePSS Recommendations Rx: Print (iPad only) or email patient specific customized recommendations.
New Rationale and Grade Definitions
The USPSTF has modified the format for recommendation statements. The ePSS application update reflects these changes. More information about the modified recommendation statement can be found in the articles referenced below.
The letter grades used by the USPSTF remain the same (A, B, C, D, I), but the definitions have changed and are incorporated into the ePSS application:
•Recommendations to which the new grade definitions apply are marked with an asterisk (*)
•The grade definition appears in a "scroll-over" box associated with the grade letter.
•New and old grade definitions are described in the "Grade Definitions" section of the tool.
These changes are described in the articles referenced below.
