Health screening is a useful way to assess one’s health and either obtain the reassurance that you need or identify health issues. In this article, Dr David Richardson discusses what makes a good health screen and the vital importance of context, continuity and a personalised approach.
When we set up Edinburgh GP, one of our main aims was to provide a meaningful health screening service. But what do I mean by that?
People are not all the same so why should health screening packages all be the same. Edinburgh GP health screens are different in that they are personalised to the individual and focus on health promotion as well as disease detection. As a health screen provider, we take full ownership of the results on behalf of our patients and by building trusted relationships, we can ensure that patients receive ongoing face to face GP care.
Of course, the key ingredient to a good heath screen is context. Without context to an individual’s previous medical history, family or genetic history, current or previous lifestyle, stresses, concerns or expectations, a health screen can just be a collection of numbers on a page. Everything has to be put into context and tests carefully selected to be both useful and relevant to that individual.
As such at Edinburgh GP we have a unique approach. We have a doctor led scoping session prior to the main appointment where blood tests are taken, and the health screen agenda is personalised.
In this world of online influencers and the mountain of information available online, it is easy for people to be confused about health screening. I recognise that one of our key roles is to provide perspective and help our patients to prioritise their health goals sensibly. It’s how to make sense of all the data, cut through the noise and identify what is good evidence and what is just simply made-up information.
Continuity is also key. We know that one off screening results can have limited use and that result trends gained over consecutive screens can be more informative.
Relationship building is another key component. We understand that time and continuity is needed to build that trusting relationship between doctor and patient. You can choose which of our doctors you want to see and our health screen appointments with the doctor are probably the longest in the industry.
Most of our clients are thankfully healthy so we spend a lot of time doing lifestyle and performance coaching. It’s not just about detecting illness but just as importantly, we help our clients to prioritise and nurture their health, all of our clinicians have a strong interest in lifestyle medicine.
What happens after a routine external health screen? The answer is usually nothing or you may be sent back to your overworked NHS GP. Ownership of the results by your health screen provider is really important as we should not be directing results back onto our NHS colleagues unless that is the best and most appropriate place for their care.
So, a good health screen also has the option and the capability of ongoing GP care in between your screens. Here at Edinburgh GP, we provide a full wrap around GP service 5 days a week all year around.
Edinburgh GP provide a comprehensive range of personalised health screening services, for further information or to make an appointment please contact us.