Health Maintenance Assessment

Describe preventive services that should be included in an organized approach to prevention, including how prevention services change depending on the targeted population.

 * The prevalence of a disease in a target population effects the positive predictive value of a test and the cost effectiveness. Stratifying your patient population by age, sex, and behaviors can improve the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a screening approach.
 * Identified patients need to be treated in order for the screening program to be effective. Thus, the availability and practicality of receiving treatment (ie interferon for 6 months for HepC) needs to be evaluated prior to screening.

Describe methods that can assist physicians in evaluating the effectiveness of clinical preventive services.

 * 1) USPSTF see website
 * 2) Society recommendations (ie American Cancer Society, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, etc)
 * 3) Review articles - pubmed