High-tech scans regain ground despite detractors - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Marto had read a short item about the popularitgof so-called "full body scans," a noninvasivd procedure that proponents say can sometimez find underlying medical problems the routine physicalxs miss. He underwent an high-tech physical that included a variety of computerize images of body parts from headto toe. "One of the scanx showed a tumor on my left kidney the size of a said Marto, 44, the chief executive offer at Executivse , a Norcross television production firm. Within surgeons removed a cancerous organ that had givenb Marto no indication that anythingvwas wrong. In the late 1990s, body scanningy was all the rage in theexecutive community.
Some companiees promoted gift certificates, touting a "Dio it Now, Save Your Life" mantra. Most of the privater firms engaged in the scanning businesds have since fallen by the victims of economic malaise and anasty face-off with traditional "All that pom-pom cheerleadinv sent an unspoken message to the medical community that 'you'ree not doing a good enoug h job,' and 'we can save more lives than you. That turned a lot of doctors off," said Peb president of , an Orangr Park, Fla.-based company that operates a clinic in Surviving companies no longer promotew bodyscanning alone, but rather what they call comprehensive healtj screening.
They are working hand-in-hand with physicianx and marketing their services through employers as part of an overallk healthmanagement plan. "Health screening is probabl the most proactive thing that we saidIke Reighard, chief people officef at (NYSE: HMB). The Atlantw mortgage company makes advanced health screenint available to all ofits 1,300 employees at a cost that Reigharxd says is nominal comparedr to after-the-fact payment for the treatment of serious A full executive work-up can cost as much as Most insurance plans don'g cover high-tech physicals. Not all physicians are convinced the extra work is agood idea. Some express concernse over the numberof false-positive results.
The Americanj College of Radiology five yearas ago went on record against body scans for patiente who otherwise showed no symptomsof "The ACR is concerned that this procedure will lead to the discovergy of numerous findings that will not ultimately affectg patients' health, but will result in increased patient anxiety, unnecessary follow-uo examinations and treatments and wasted the organization's statement said. At least one health-car analyst considers such arguments specious. "The same anxieties were expressedc about mammography andbreast screening.
I think most consumers would now say that annual mammographiees are considered quite beneficial forsome women," said Christophee Kane, senior financial analyst, . Kane says he expectd the use of technology in physical examinations to increaseas health-card policy encourages consumers to take more responsibility for their own well-being. Advancements in technologuy have cut downon false-positives, Hendrix making today's high-tech physicals much more reliable. "There are no more 'slajm bam, thank you scans.' What we do is much more in line with establishecmedical protocols," he said.