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Coverage of the NHS Health Check programme in England: national evaluation

A recent article from my research group examined coverage of the NHS Health Check programme in England. The article was published in the journal Preventive Medicine. We found that coverage of the programme was low in the first four years and there was a wide variation in coverage between general practice.

There was an increase in statin prescribing but only about one in three people who attended for a Health Check and who were found to have a cardiovascular risk score (20% or more 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease) were prescribed a statin.

We concluded that unless coverage of the NHS Health Check programme improved and uptake of statins in high-risk groups increased, the programme would not deliver its predicted benefits in reducing morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease.

The article was covered by a number of media outlets including the Daily Mail and Pulse.

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