This article is likely to raise quite a few hackles, because the message that prevention is better than cure has been drilled into us ever since we were children. This is one of the reasons that executive health checkups have become so popular. The promise is that they will help the doctor to pickup medical problems early, so that these can be treated more effectively. Unfortunately, even though the logic is very appealing, the sad truth is that health checkups are good only for the labs and testing centers, but not for patients !
Let's look at why health checkups are being promoted so aggressively. The checkup is a great way of converting well people into patients; and creates a constant stream of customers for the healthcare system. It's a mathematical certainty that if you run a sufficient number of tests for a completely well person, you are bound to find abnormalities. The…
