Be Well Virginia: Preventive Taskforce

We have been told over and over again why it’s important to have a colonoscopy, or that exercise can prevent a heart attack. What about having a Virtual Physical with a full-body CT scan – is this a good idea? How do we know what’s best for us, and how do these recommendations get made? As most of us know, preventive healthcare can not only increase your lifespan but also improve your quality of life by detecting some diseases in their earliest, most treatable forms. However, it’s equally important that the interventions and tests we choose also “DO-NO-HARM”.

Preventive Healthcare Town Hall

Guest – Dr. Alex Krist – U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce

Summary Highlights

7:30 – The U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce is a group of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine. They make evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling, and preventive medications.

15:10 – Dr. Krist, who was a part of the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce for many years gives examples of some questions that need to be asked when thinking about preventive medicine and screening. Such as, can you find it early? Does finding it early make a difference? Or do we have a treatment?

23:00 – Preventive medicine uses screening tests that can find irregularities in the human body, but there are certain illnesses that even if caught early, there is no medical intervention available to change outcomes. Dr.Krist explains how some of the preventive services can harm the patient.

37:00 – Shared Decision-Making (SDM) is an important process that makes sure the patient has all the information before deciding what is best for them and their health.

1:03:49 – The U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce recognizing that there is a disparity in care based on one’s race and is committed to identifying when systemic racism contributes to health inequities and to include evidence-based strategies that will reverse the negative effects of systemic racism on preventable disease. The U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce is working to create equal preventive care options for all, such as, access to screening, quality of screening, time from diagnosis to treatment, and quality of treatment6 for all races.