The cost-effectiveness of health checkups--an illustrative study.

An economic analysis of personal health maintenance is complicated by the great variability in the health care process, the large amount of missing data and the great range in analytic results. Accordingly, this study should be considered more illustrative than conclusive. Data are available on middle-aged adults that periodic health checkups can be effective in significantly lowering mortality from potentially postponable disease. Using these data, a net-cost analysis has been attempted for periodic health checkups. The findings suggest that their costs and effects on health depend on how they are provided, how often and to whom. Yet, periodic health checkups can reduce lost earnings capability of examinees and can be cost-effective by using efficient health examination methods. If policy decision makers require health checkups for the lowest income people to be cost-effective, then these checkups probably will continue to be limited to case finding by physicians as an expense already included in current medical practice.