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Annual check-ups and a genetic evaluation too; this is the new annual exam from a Chicago based hospital.
Many health problems have a genetic basis. The annual physical as doctors have recommended may do more harm than good according to recent studies and doctors are wondering about its usefulness, when it is based on blood, and vitals, but fails to look at the whole person.
A Chicago based hospital system is rethinking what the physical should include.
North Shore University Health System is now adding genetic testing to its annual exam with counseling. Lower cost genetic screening is now available making this type of evaluation more affordable than ever.
Prior to scheduling your annual physical, they will ask you if you want to get a genetic test and send you a questionnaire to fill out which is loaded into their electronic health records system. The patient will pay for the test which may be covered by insurance. An algorithm will then figure out which patients may be at risk and may be a good candidate for genetic counseling.
While this is a terrific innovation in how to apply the annual physical, it may not be something every patient is comfortable with, and since there are ambiguities as per risk with certain genetic variants, it can potentially lead to treatments for problems that do not exist and treatment of “what if ” diseases.
Read more about this program here.
A Chicagoland hospital is adding a new test to its annual checkup — and it could be the future of medicine
Lydia Ramsey Aug. 29, 2017
A Chicagoland hospital system has added something new to its patients’ annual checkups: the option to get a genetic test.
Until now, DNA tests have tended to live either in the consumer realm or through referrals to specialists when a patient brings it up.
North Shore University Health System wants to bring that conversation about genetics into every doctor’s office during annual checkups.
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