Development of a multiphasic screening examination for medical care patients — III: Yield of the multiphasic screening examination

Abstract

The experience with the multiphasic screening examination employed in the Medical Care Clinic at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on 6285 persons over the past 6 yr is analyzed by studying a representative sample of 823 persons. 1. (1) There is a significantly greater proportion of females and non-whites and a significantly smaller proportion of persons aged 40–64 years in the study population than in the general population of Baltimore City. 2. (2) 33.6 per cent were delinquent in keeping their appointment for the screening examination. 3. (3) Of those 546 persons who kept the appointment for screening examination, 138 or 25.3 per cent had significant and treatable organic abnormalities which were not under acceptable medical management at the time of the screening examination. This constitutes the yield of the multiphasic screening examination as defined in this study. 4. (4) Of those 353 persons who were free from significant organic disease, fifty-eight persons or 16.4 per cent were felt by the examining physician to have considerable psychiatric problems. In addition to this number, sixty-eight persons or 19.3 per cent reported subjective severe nervousness in the self-administered questionnaire.