A health check-up allows you to detect and prevent certain problems but also to reassure yourself. It is an opportunity that few people seize, but which is nevertheless facilitated by Health Insurance…
Finding a GP is not always an easy task and even when you have one, a single consultation is difficult to draw up an overall health assessment. This approach can however prove useful for preventing or detecting health problems but it is easier to organise than you might think.
In fact, in France there is a system set up by the Primary Health Insurance Fund that allows you to easily take stock of your state of health. During a consultation of around two hours that can be divided into one or two sessions, the patient is seen by a doctor and may also meet, depending on needs, a nurse and a dentist.
The doctor is available to discuss several subjects based on a form completed by the patient: diet, stress, sexually transmitted diseases, vaccinations, etc. He checks weight and blood pressure, but more in-depth examinations are also carried out free of charge thanks to 100% coverage by health insurance and without advance payment…
The doctor in charge of the assessment may indeed suggest a hearing test, a cardiorespiratory test, a urine analysis and a blood sample. The presence of a dentist at the place of consultation allows a check of the patient’s oral health. At the end of the consultation, a written report is provided and guidance is given if other examinations are deemed necessary.
People over 16 years old in a precarious situation and who do not benefit from regular medical monitoring are given priority to take this assessment officially called “health prevention examination”, but every insured person under the general health insurance scheme (CPAM) or the Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA) is eligible. The downside is that it remains more easily accessible to city dwellers because the health examination centers (CES) or approved centers in which it takes place are generally in large cities. The CPAM can invite insured persons to take this examination by sending a letter, but it is also possible to ask to register for it by going through the health insurance website or that of the MSA depending on the organization on which you depend.
In addition, another CPAM system is more easily accessible regardless of location. This is a prevention assessment aimed at all audiences but at key periods of life. This assessment is limited this time to a classic medical examination, but allows for a real moment of exchange during which lifestyle habits, risk factors for chronic disease, screenings (cancers, STIs, etc.) and vaccinations carried out are discussed. It is carried out free of charge at the rate of one consultation for each of the following age groups: 18-25 years, 45-50 years, 60-65 years, 70-75 years. It is carried out by any doctor, and possibly by a nurse, midwife or pharmacist. The sante.fr website nevertheless lists health professionals who are sensitive to this approach, who have requested to be listed in order to be easily identified.
