Health Risk Assessments – Free Insights, Valuable Guidance

In an Internet age where anyone can be a “Google doctor,” information about health issues and their treatment is never more than a click or tap away. Whether that info is accurate – or appropriate for what ails you – can be a whole different story.

Typically, the primary source of information about your health should be your primary care provider. But some people don’t have a healthcare provider, or they may not want to bring something to attention that may not be an issue. Perhaps they want to know if they are at health risk due to lifestyle choices.

A great resource for this kind of query is a Health Risk Assessment (HRA), like those built into the Andalusia Health website. An HRA is an online questionnaire designed to evaluate your potential health risks and identify areas where you might be at risk for certain illnesses or diseases.

It not only helps you understand your current health status as it pertains to the specific area for which you took the assessment (e.g., colon health or heart health), but it also provides personalized recommendations for improving your health and well-being.

A heart health HRA, for instance, will ask questions about your age, waist measurement, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, physical activity, and family history of heart disease, among other things.

It will measure your responses against a database of clinical information and create a report that details your risk (low, moderate, or high) and offer recommendations to mitigate factors that might put you at some level of risk. For instance, if you answered a heart-related health risk assessment question about diet with an “unhealthy”-type response, the assessment will inform you that “eating a diet high in fats, sugars, and processed foods increases a person's blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease.”

Andalusia Health offers HRAs on our website that cover everything from cancer to digestive health to stroke risk. These assessments help in the detection of potential health issues and enable timely interventions, which can help us prevent or manage diseases more effectively. Assessment results often guide individuals to take necessary steps, such as scheduling screenings, adjusting their lifestyle, or seeking professional medical advice.

You can view all our assessments here. If you are concerned about a specific issue, take the corresponding assessment and consider the information and recommendations it shares. And if you don’t have a primary care provider to help you with your health decisions, you can find one here.

Google is great for a lot of things, delivering everything from trivia answers to “how-to” videos to a list of local restaurants open after midnight. But trust your health to the experts – find the pertinent healthcare information and resources you need at AndalusiaHealth.com!