How what looks like a good idea can be hazardous to your health

Warning: Health-screening come-ons pose serious health risks

They seem so innocent…almost beneficial.

You just open your mailbox one day and there it is…promising you a great deal for a “simple, potentially lifesaving” test. But this isn’t just any test. No, this one can check your risk of stroke, look for aortic aneurysms and other types of heart disease.

And they’re offered at a special rate, too. The card I got said I could get 9 of these screenings in a special “women’s package” for the discounted price of just $347. That’s $2,850 worth of tests — my card said. (Don’t worry, there are special screening packages for men, too.)

It sounds like a great deal. After all, what could be wrong with looking for artery blockages or taking a picture of your heart?

And you might even feel like you’re neglecting your health if you don’t take the deal.

But don’t run to the phone to make that appointment just yet. Because not only are these exams unnecessary, they can actually be dangerous.

And experts all around the country are calling these tests pointless and risky. A waste of time and money that’s nothing more than “fearmongering.”

It’s a case where that “ounce of prevention” can cause a pound of problems.

These kinds of health screenings seem to pop up everywhere. You’ll find them at churches, community centers and American Legion posts. One company even has a fleet of buses outfitted to be “health screening labs” that travels the country.

So how can they hurt?

Well, for starters, they’re for the most part unnecessary. And they can lead to some very expensive and dangerous additional tests and “overtreatments.”

Public Citizen is targeting one company, HealthFair that markets these tests by sending invitations out all over the country.

The group says such come-ons are “unethical” and will “likely do more harm than good.”

HealthFair partners with hospitals around the country. And these hospitals perform the follow-up tests whenever one of these screenings shows a possible problem. And that’s where the bargain basement prices end.

Public Citizen recently sent a letter to hospitals in eight different states asking them to “sever” any ties with HealthFair. The letter said that no major medical group supports any of the tests the company promotes for people who have no symptoms of any of the conditions they screen for.

But even worse is the fear factor it creates. Might an aneurism or stroke be right around the corner, even if you have no symptoms?

Public Citizen added that the “false-positive test results” from these screenings can “lead to unfounded anxiety and additional unnecessary, risky and costly” treatments and tests.

And it’s not the only one sounding the alarm about this.

The chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Steven Nissan, says that “noninvasive” tests like CT scans can expose you to radiation that can increase your risk of cancer.

And there are other risks involved too. All these “noninvasive” tests can lead to some very dangerous invasive ones.

Nissan cites the case of a woman who had one of these health screenings and was told she needed further testing. That led to her getting an angioplasty that tore an artery. Because of that, she had a heart attack and ended up needing a heart transplant.

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that these direct-to-consumer medical marketing ploys just target our fears of undetected diseases. It also notes that the ethics of such screenings are suspect.

And two doctors from the University of Oklahoma’s School of Community Medicine warned that follow-up tests for a false positive screening result carry the risk of “allergic reactions, bleeding, infection, kidney damage, exposure to unnecessary radiation, stroke or heart attack.”

All the experts agreed that unless you’re having symptoms you shouldn’t even consider subjecting yourself these kinds of tests.

And if you are having symptoms, then you need to be seeing your doctor. Or even possibly going to the ER, not your local American Legion hall or a “health bus” parked at the mall.

 

Sources:
“Public Citizen urges hospitals to stop sponsoring HealthFair screenings” Liz Szabo, June 19, 2014, USA Today, usatoday.com