AOPA recommended LifeLine Screening???

[gismo]

I received an "invitation" to undergo "five painless screenings" at a local facility. This came via a mailing from AOPA that appears to recommend the tests. Total cost is $145 and this includes:

1) Stroke/Cartoid artery untrasound
2) Heart rhythm test (mini-EKG)
3) Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm untrasound
4) Peripheral Arterial disease evaluation
5) Osteoporosis risk assessment (heel bone untrasound)

The last one is optional and skipping it saves $10.

I'm wondering if there's any value in this service and also whether there are any downsides WRT my airman's medical certificate.

FWIW, I just underwent a pre-op physical including an EKG (all results normal) plus some extra bloodwork my family doctor suggested (PSA etc).

 

[bbchien]

OMG. So let's say you find 30% atherosclerosis in a carotid bifurcation placque. Carotid disease is a marker for CAD, so now you get the treadmill to 9 minutes and 90% of your VMax, the doc's letter, the fasting lipid profile, the serum creatinine and fasting glucose.

Even if negative, you get to now send a doctor's letter on "how your atherosclerotic vascular disease" is doing, every year.

All the others I'm okay with.

 

[Gary F]

The value of these tests depend on your age, other medical conditions (like hypertension, cholesterol status and diabetes) and family history. I believe that this program is more likely to result in a benefit to AOPA's financial status than your health. I would save my money. A good primary care physician will be much more objective in determining which screening tests you might need. Everybody should have a primary care physician.

 

[JeffDG]

I predict the results of the screening:

1) Buy AOPA Medical Plan
2) Drink more wine

 

[Gary]

OMG. So let's say you find 30% atherosclerosis in a carotid bifurcation placque. Carotid disease is a marker for CAD, so now you get the treadmill to 9 minutes and 90% of your VMax, the doc's letter, the fasting lipid profile, the serum creatinine and fasting glucose.

Uh... what does that mean? In non-medical English.

Gary

 

[EdFred]

Uh... what does that mean? In non-medical English.

Gary

It means don't go to the doctor if you don't think there's anything wrong with you.

 

[Gary F]

Uh... what does that mean? In non-medical English.

Gary

The carotid artery is the artery in your neck. The thickness of this artery is a indirect test of the presence of atherosclerosis or clogging of the arteries in other parts of the body including the heart. If you have a thick carotid artery you have a higher chance of having coronary artery disease. If the test comes back abnormal or not normal then a physician has to decide how to assess for possible blockages in the coronary arteries. This may be a treadmill stress test. Tests are not perfect and the results may suggest a problem where one does not exist. This could lead to more testing and a diagnosis that can be an issue when you go to renew your medical. I think it is a better idea to let your primary care physician to decide what screening tests to get.

 

[weilke]

Uh... what does that mean? In non-medical English.

Gary

It means that doing those tests may
- force you to undergo further cardiac testing
- delay the issuance of your next medical
- have no medical benefit to you at all.


I deal with the 'dowstream' effects of these unneccessary and poorly executed tests every once in a while:

1. the ultrasound exam is often in a single imaging plane only and is not done to the quality standards applicable for this test
2. an EKG in isolation without a knowledgeable practicioner looking at the patient otherwise is near worthless.
3. screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm does benefit a small group of patients, this subgroup now receives screening through the medicare program.
4. don't know what they do for that point.
5. the heel-ultrasound is near useless for osteoporosis detection. If you are at risk (female, postmenopausal, on chemo, on certain meds), chances are your private doc has already sent you for the proper test.


These 'Lifeline screenings' are a racket run by enterpreneurs in the mobile ultrasound business with little regard to established screening guidelines and practices. It is marketed using anectdotes and fear. Yes, all these things are worthwhile to screen for in certain subgroups of the population. But performing those tests on all comers without looking at risk profiles is fraught with high 'false positive' rates and potential risks from the unneccessary medical testing it can lead to.

I would like to see the solicitation, if AOPA is indeed on board with this someone should really tell them to get out of that business.

 

[Gary]

The carotid artery is the artery in your neck. The thickness of this artery is a indirect test of the presence of atherosclerosis or clogging of the arteries in other parts of the body including the heart. If you have a thick carotid artery you have a higher chance of having coronary artery disease. If the test comes back abnormal or not normal then a physician has to decide how to assess for possible blockages in the coronary arteries. This may be a treadmill stress test. Tests are not perfect and the results may suggest a problem where one does not exist. This could lead to more testing and a diagnosis that can be an issue when you go to renew your medical. I think it is a better idea to let your primary care physician to decide what screening tests to get.

Thank You!

Gary

 

[Gary F]

It means don't go to the doctor if you don't think there's anything wrong with you.

Not exactly. The purpose of screening tests is to detect disease in persons with no symptoms. There is considerable debate in the medical community concerning the proper use of various screening tests. Screening tests should be ordered by a physician and performed at a qualified facility.

I agree with Weilke above. If the AOPA is involved in this type of business they should get out of it now.

Here is a link to Mayo Clinic site that recommends certain screening tests based on age and sex.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/health-screening/WO00112

Here is a list of screening tests for men by age.http://www.sc.edu/healthycarolina/pdf/facstaffstu/genwellness/RecommendedMedicalScreeningTests.pdf

 

[gismo]

It means that doing those tests may
- force you to undergo further cardiac testing
- delay the issuance of your next medical
- have no medical benefit to you at all.


I deal with the 'dowstream' effects of these unneccessary and poorly executed tests every once in a while:

1. the ultrasound exam is often in a single imaging plane only and is not done to the quality standards applicable for this test
2. an EKG in isolation without a knowledgeable practicioner looking at the patient otherwise is near worthless.
3. screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm does benefit a small group of patients, this subgroup now receives screening through the medicare program.
4. don't know what they do for that point.
5. the heel-ultrasound is near useless for osteoporosis detection. If you are at risk (female, postmenopausal, on chemo, on certain meds), chances are your private doc has already sent you for the proper test.


These 'Lifeline screenings' are a racket run by enterpreneurs in the mobile ultrasound business with little regard to established screening guidelines and practices. It is marketed using anectdotes and fear. Yes, all these things are worthwhile to screen for in certain subgroups of the population. But performing those tests on all comers without looking at risk profiles is fraught with high 'false positive' rates and potential risks from the unneccessary medical testing it can lead to.

The expert opinions expressed in this thread have convinced me to keep my $145.

I would like to see the solicitation, if AOPA is indeed on board with this someone should really tell them to get out of that business.

Your wish is my command, AOPA letter attached.

 

[weilke]

The expert opinions expressed in this thread have convinced me to keep my $145.

Keep them and spend them on something else.

- Go to the Mayo site GaryF mentioned above, plug in your age and print out the recommendations. Look at other resources like the american heart association recommendations for screening tests:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3046593

and the recommendations of the american cancer society

http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/FindC...-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer

- Go through your family tree and figure out what folks died of or suffer from down to your grandparents and your uncles, jot it down.

- If you have a trusted physician, book a 45min consult with him/her and pay it out of pocket (if you dont think your doc is up to this, track down a fellow pilot who is an internist/cardiologist/AME for this consult).
- Go with him through your family history, personal health history (smoking, weight etc.) and ask what screening tests he recommends. Some of them will be covered by your health insurance, some wont. The list may well contain one or more of the ultrasound based tests offered by the lifeline folks. It will probably contain a look at your cholesterol and lipid profiles, maybe a fasting blood glucose and if you are at elevated cardiac risk maybe a treadmill stress-test, possibly a test for colon cancer, certainly a screening for prostate cancer, possibly a screening test for lung cancer.
- decide whether you want to spend the money on this 'annual' go ahead. If nothing shows up, you are good for about 5 years. If something shows up, you stand a good chance of beating it. Remember, the FAA medical is designed to keep you from taking down a plane due to sudden incapacitation. The FAA doesn't care if you die from lung cancer .

It'll be a bit more than $145 though. Doing the lifeline thing compared with what I outlined above would be the equivalent of paying the lineboy a 20 to check your tire pressure with a digital gauge and but hoping to get signed off for an annual.

Your wish is my command, AOPA letter attached.

Oh good lord. I guess I'll have to send some emails.

 

[Gary F]

Keep them and spend them on something else.

- Go to the Mayo site GaryF mentioned above, plug in your age and print out the recommendations. Look at other resources like the american heart association recommendations for screening tests:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3046593

and the recommendations of the american cancer society

http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/FindC...-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer

- Go through your family tree and figure out what folks died of or suffer from down to your grandparents and your uncles, jot it down.

- If you have a trusted physician, book a 45min consult with him/her and pay it out of pocket (if you dont think your doc is up to this, track down a fellow pilot who is an internist/cardiologist/AME for this consult).
- Go with him through your family history, personal health history (smoking, weight etc.) and ask what screening tests he recommends. Some of them will be covered by your health insurance, some wont. The list may well contain one or more of the ultrasound based tests offered by the lifeline folks. It will probably contain a look at your cholesterol and lipid profiles, maybe a fasting blood glucose and if you are at elevated cardiac risk maybe a treadmill stress-test, possibly a test for colon cancer, certainly a screening for prostate cancer, possibly a screening test for lung cancer.
- decide whether you want to spend the money on this 'annual' go ahead. If nothing shows up, you are good for about 5 years. If something shows up, you stand a good chance of beating it. Remember, the FAA medical is designed to keep you from taking down a plane due to sudden incapacitation. The FAA doesn't care if you die from lung cancer .

It'll be a bit more than $145 though. Doing the lifeline thing compared with what I outlined above would be the equivalent of paying the lineboy a 20 to check your tire pressure with a digital gauge and but hoping to get signed off for an annual.

Oh good lord. I guess I'll have to send some emails.

Good advice. I am nervous about the recommendation for height and weight screening. I might discover that I'm fat. Cholesterol screening is important. There are effective medications for high cholesterol and some of them are really cheap.

 

[weilke]

I am nervous about the recommendation for height and weight screening. I might discover that I'm fat.

I realized that I am getting old when I was described as 'white male, middle aged, hair grey' in a police report

At least I can do something about the fat part.

 

[AggieMike88]

After looking at the letter that Gismo provided, I wonder if AOPA is even aware of this solicitation.

I and my business belong to Automotive Recyclers Association, the trade association for Auto & Truck recyclers and dismantlers. About 3 to 5 times a year, we are solicited by a company who calls or mails and says they are ARA and want to sell us some product or service.

This is of course done without ARA's permission. They just accessed the business membership roster and tried to gain rep/legitamacy by improperly using the Association's name. A call to ARA quickly gets this stopped.

Gismo's letter reads like the organization providing the health services did much the same. Somehow, someone at that business got ahold of a list of AOPA members in their area and sent the letter.

A call to AOPA Member Services department will for sure answer if they authorized this business to use their name or not.

--------------------------------------

(Edit: I just picked up my copy of the AOPA Pilot magazine for a quick read and saw the announcement of their partnering with this service provider.

So my original guess was incorrect.

And I just saw Murphy's post below mine here.)

 

[murphey]

Yes, AOPA is aware. It's a deal set up by the Marketing Dept. In keeping with Dr. C's comments, I contacted my AME (who happens to be one of the best internists in the state and is a pilot) and asked his opinion. I just got off the phone with AOPA and provided my opinion based on his comments and my thoughts that

1) this borders on self-medication and tests like these should only be ordered by the PCP or qualified physician who knows your medical history

2) just because AOPA gets a kickback doesn't mean it should be endorsing anything other than aviation-specific products.

3) Endorsing the wine program looks really bad for an aviation organization!