Preventative Screenings, Adults Part 1

Lecture Summary

            This four-part podcast reviews all of the current recommendations for preventative screening by the USPSTF.  Many key concepts, interesting pearls, and opinions to facilitate discussion will also be included.

Key Points

·      Disease prevention is very important and often underutilized

·      Recommendations are not static, they are constantly changing due to factors like disease prevalence, tests available, and new research. Doctors should consider reviewing preventative screenings at least every couple years in order to stay current, maybe more.

·      “Expert” panels like the USPSTF are often unable to agree with each other. Discordances exist, largely due to insufficient evidence. The pervasive influence of money must always be considered as well when evaluating such discordances.

·      Every medical provider should be familiar with the most efficacious screenings. These screening should be discussed with and offered to appropriate patients.

·      Stop doing things shown to cause more harm than benefit

·      Support more research. If no one is studying something important, consider studying it yourself!

·      For patient oriented education, see the corresponding blog post available at WanderMedicine.com.

References

-       United States Preventative Service Task Force. (https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/). 

-       United States Preventative Service Task Force. Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Preventive_Services_Task_Force)

-       CDC Childhood Vaccine Recommendations. (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html)

-       Federal Advisory Committee. Recommended Uniform Screening Panels. (https://www.hrsa.gov/advisory-committees/heritable-disorders/rusp/index.html)

-       Achievement in Public Health, 1900-1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies. MMWR. CDC publication. 1999.

-       Additional references were utilized and cited orally during the podcast.