Are you 18-45 years old? Analyzes every 5 years – What the OAU says

An uproar was caused in the last few hours after the announcement by the Health Insurance Organization to define limitations and conditions for conducting laboratory tests on adult beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Scheme for prevention purposes.

The OAU became the recipient of a multitude of criticisms and attacks that spoke of an attempt to save money by removing the right from citizens to submit to laboratory tests every year for preventive reasons.

The interest was mainly focused on the age group of 18-44 years which, according to the relevant announcement of the OAU, will have the right for laboratory tests every five years.

Prevention for three age groups through the NHS

As mentioned in the announcement of the OAU to the personal doctors of the National Health Service published in the daily press, for the purposes of strengthening prevention and in cooperation with the sub-committee of laboratory tests of the Organization and after consultation with the representatives of the scientific societies of the personal doctors for adults, it included the routine examinations at the National Health Service.

People aged 18-44 are given the right to undergo laboratory tests for prevention purposes every five years. For people aged 45-64 every two years, and for people aged 65 and over every year. The plan generally covers preventive laboratory tests in which the OAU included prostate cancer tests in all age groups for men as well as thyroid test (TSH) for men over 60 and women over 50. For people over the age of 65, a thyroid test is performed every two years.

The position of the OAU

Speaking on the "Front Page" show, the senior official of the OAU, Gnosia Achniotou, said that the organization has added guidelines to cover prevention for laboratory tests. Examinations for prevention purposes were not institutionalized until now.

He noted that these guidelines refer to asymptomatic adults, that is, people over 18 who have not been diagnosed or have no symptoms and are not taking medication.

"The reaction that was created was not from doctors but from the public who probably had some wrong impressions of what prevention means. Prevention is all about guidelines based on scientific data."

He noted that some beneficiaries might not go to the doctor at all and never get tested, and some would ask the doctor themselves to refer them for certain tests.

"Studies have proven that routine examinations are not only not associated with lower mortality, but on the contrary may be associated with overdiagnosis and overtreatment that result in unnecessary procedures such as for example radiodiagnostic examinations that ultimately burden our health. Of course, prevention must be done but based on specific instructions and not arbitrarily."

See the full discussion here: