The family physician and the periodic health examination.

This article attempts to answer six questions about the periodic health examination in order to establish whether it is of enough value to warrant the time spent. Such elements as early detection, risk factors, health behavior, disease outcome, evaluation methods and effects of long term therapy are considered, the conclusion being that while screening has some value, existing programs have little hope of reducing risk or even maintaining health in the general population. National and provincial bodies should support research into the effectiveness of various screening methods.