Most US doctors say it’s time to rethink the notion of a yearly physical, a fixture in medicine since the 1940s, reports [s]Medicinenet[/s]. Studies done over at least 30 years have shown that for healthy adults – those who do not have a long-term illness or take daily prescription medications – annual wellness checks do not lower the number of deaths. They also do not cut the rates of disease-related deaths, hospitalisations, or the cost of care.
Instead, studies from multiple researchers found the annual exams can lead to the over-diagnosis of some conditions, overtreatment, and to invasive, costly tests.
[link url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=179767]Full Medicinenet report[/link]