Preventative Full Body Scans A Scam?

Do costly full body scams, er, scans really help the rich & famous like Kim Kardashian beat the mortality odds with timely heads ups or unnecessarily create more problems via false alarms & unhealthy worrying?

Buyer beware. As the WSJ op ed by Alex Janin suggests, “The real cost of a preventive health scan goes well beyond the price tag.” As you might have read elsewhere, Janin notes, “companies are selling body scans to seemingly healthy patients, promising peace of mind. [Yet some] medical professionals are concerned about the costs” as well as the efficacy. Consider that the cost of a preventive scan ranges from $650 to several thousand dollars & insurance seldom covers it. While many employ magnetic resonance, other techniques can expose patients to potentially unhealth radiation. Some radiologists & family doctors also warn the detection of unexpected masses can lead to follow-up tests & procedures by referred specialists, even if these “incidentalomoas” are usually benign – according to Dutch researchers, the false positive rate can be as high as 16%. “These are a bad idea,” said Dr. Mirza Rahman, at American College of Preventive Medicine.

Still, healthcare pros acknowledge “preventive scans aren’t going away – and are likely to become even more popular among wealthy patients who feel detection of any lifelaltering illness is worth the extra hassle & cost.” The gamble & real test for these souls will, of course, be if & when the sought-after peace of mind accomplishes just the opposite …

Davd Soul