EXECUTIVE PHYSICAL

Perhaps you’ve heard of the executive physical, a modified type of annual exam. Instead of spending 15 minutes with your doctor once a year for basic labs and a brief health review, the executive physical offers a full day (or more) of advanced testing, labs, and diagnostic reviews. Marketed to the busy professional who has no time to get sick, executive physicals cost $2,000-$5,000 on average, often up to $10,000 with additional tests — and insurance doesn’t foot most of the bill.

On the surface the executive physical sounds ideal. A whole day with a team of doctors who perform a battery of tests: what could be more useful for your health?

Unfortunately, this one-size-fits-all approach is prone to both over-testing, which adds expense and risk, and under-testing, which misses potentially important conditions.

The most important drawback to the executive physical, we believe, is that by focusing almost exclusively on lab work, it grossly under-emphasizes direct, face-to-face discussion, and glosses over the most crucial part of quality medical care: an ongoing relationship with a personal physician.

The information posted on this blog and website are for general information only and should never be relied on as specific medical advice for an individual reader.  No financial relationship exists between us and any recommended products or persons mentioned. All material contained here is the property of the Sheldon Sowell Center for Health, PC, and cannot be copied, reprinted, or linked to without our express permission.