Rejecting a General Check-up: Case Report

Abstract

65-old gentleman rejected the general check-up recommendation, because he felt healthy. As his chosen family doctor, I also perceive him as the healthy patient, not having any risks. In spite of my personal concerns, it was obvious that I had to respect his choice, because of Act on Patients Rights and the Physicians Ethical Code. But, at that moment I was not certain about the evidence on the effectiveness of general check-ups and some professional dilemmas remain. Therefore, we did a limited literature search. A Cochrane systematic analysis as well as other systematic reviews has shown that there is no evidence on the effectiveness of general check-ups. In the professional recommendations general check-ups are replaced by preventive measures with proven effectiveness, such as those recommended by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and the U.S. Preventive Task Force. It helps me to solve my professional dilemmas around this patient.