"The POZ PLUS health-check-up questionnaire as a useful tool to assess the health condition of patients"

Introduction: Preventive check-ups were a package of benefits in the pilot study of coordinated care POZ PLUS, available to patients aged 20 to 65. It included a medical interview and physical examination with basic or in-depth diagnostics. A detailed interview and summary of the patient's health was conducted on the basis of a unified check-up questionnaire.

Aims, Objectives and Methods: One of the goals of preventive check-ups was providing patients with comprehensive prophylactic services, including assessment of the existing risks and their subsequent reduction, the possibility of referral patient to prevention programs, educational visits, diseases early detection or treatment.

The check-up questionnaire was intended to help in collecting and integrating basic information about the patient's health condition (patient summary). It contained elements of standard medical history, assessment of basic life and anthropometric parameters; evaluation of the results of commissioned tests, verification of previous preventive interventions and commonly recognized tests (e.g. AUDIT-C, SCORE). Based on the results of the health check-up, the patient received an individual health management plan, and its elements were also presented on the patient's individual account.

The check-up questionnaire  was assessed in online survey by 100 medical professionals (doctors, nurses, coordinators) participating in the POZ PLUS pilot program.

Results: The results of the study indicate that the scope of the prevention check-up questionnaire includes information: enabling the initial selection to commonly available prophylactic programs (93%), important in making clinical decisions (87%), important in patient education (87%), systematizing the knowledge about the patient's current health condition (86%), facilitating patient assignment to the dispensary group (85%), constituting a reliable source of information for determining the patient's health status (81%), facilitating communication and relationship with the patient (73%). Summarizing information about the patient on the basis of a questionnaire shortens the time of a medical visit (67%). At the same time, the results of the survey indicated a lack of consensus as to the level of detail of the questionnaire in its individual sections. This may require correction, e.g. developing the section on the patient's psychological interview, or reformulating questions regarding the family interview.

Conclusions: The preventive check-up questionnaire was highly rated by its users, i.e. medical professionals implementing the POZ PLUS pilot. After possible modification, it should be a tool for assessing risk factors as part of the periodic assessment of the patient's health. It may also constitute the basis for further work in the area of prevention and integration of individual activities functioning separately in the health care system in Poland.