The cost-effectiveness of population Health Checks: have the NHS Health Checks been unfairly maligned?

ABSTRACT:

Aim

The English NHS currently has a policy of providing Health Checks to all 40-74 year olds. Administered in primary care, they aim to identify patients at risk of a range of diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, and facilitate care. This study is the first to use observed data on the effectiveness of the Checks to consider whether they represent a cost-effective use of limited NHS resources.

Subject and methods

Using a publicly available evaluation tool we conducted an analysis of the Checks to establish the long-term cost and health-related outcomes of a cohort of patients. The primary focus of the analysis was to establish whether the impact of the Checks on BMI was sufficient to justify their cost.

Results

The Checks were associated with a reduction in

SUBMITTER: Hinde S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5515950 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature