Health screening and health evaluations are not the same. A health screening is usually focused on identifying whether a specific issue is present right now. A health evaluation takes a more holistic view, looking at how your body is functioning, where your health may be heading, and how well you are performing day to day.
That distinction matters. A scan or standard screen may offer reassurance, but it can also miss the functional issues behind fatigue, poor sleep, digestive complaints, anxiety, pain or reduced performance. In this discussion, Dr Sabine Donnai and Jonathan Wreaves explain why a connected, 360-degree view of your health can reveal more than a tick-box screen, and how the right evaluation can support prevention, performance and long-term wellbeing.
Watch our discussion with Dr. Sabine Donnai and Jonathan Wreaves.
Even within that framework, there are superficial screens and more in-depth screens.
One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that people think they can go into a total body MRI and everything is going to be checked. I find that hugely misleading and falsely reassuring.
First of all, on an MRI, you’re only really going to be able to see what is already visible and, in the main, what is bigger than around a centimetre. Secondly, you’re only looking at structure.
For example, if I put a person in an MRI, it may look normal. I’m going to see a heart, a liver, a kidney, bones and muscle. Based on that, I might say this person is normal because the MRI is normal.
That clearly doesn’t make any sense. I’m exaggerating to make a point. Of course, there is value in MRI, but not as a sole screening tool, because you’re not looking at functionality.
When I think of a health screen, or a health evaluation as we call it, it looks at all the different areas. Is there anything wrong now with this person in all the depths that we can measure?
So, it’s not just looking at an image. You’re looking at functionality. You’re looking at the purpose of that organ and the performance in its totality.
Then you also want to look at the direction that person is moving in, so you can prevent problems in the medium and long term.
A massive part of what I think an evaluation should include is performance. How well can I feel?
That is very different from saying, “My MRI is normal, but I still feel tired.” How useful is my MRI if I’m actually feeling tired? You may say, “You’ve seen your pancreas and your liver always looks fine,” but I’m still feeling tired.
That’s a big reason why people come to see us. It’s the fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety, skin issues, digestive complaints and pain.
You can have a completely normal MRI and still have all six of those problems, which tells you clearly that those issues are not structural. They are functional, and there must be something else causing those symptoms, because there’s no symptom that just arises for no reason.
So you need to look into functionality. A well-designed screen can have value, but most people, especially if they are younger or less focused on long-term disease, often want cognitive performance, optimal energy, good libido and a digestive system that is not causing embarrassment or pain.
We need to look into functionality, and we need to choose the right diagnostics and function testing to monitor it, track it and intervene. That allows you to work out whether a strategy is effective or whether it needs changing.
It all depends on what you’re looking at. It’s very similar with health. You have to ask: in which direction do you want to look?
To really understand someone’s health, you need a 360-degree view of how they are now, their likelihood of illnesses and disabilities in the future, and how they are performing. Unless we look at all three, you have a very limited evaluation of your health and you’re going to miss crucial pieces.
The vast majority of health assessments are a tick-box exercise. We look for something, ask whether it is there or not, and that’s what it is.
If you happen to have a problem that is outside the tick boxes they’re looking for, then that’s just too bad. You might get a clean bill of health because they haven’t actually looked at your problem.
That is what we see so often. People come in after having one, two or even three health assessments, with lots of blood tests, and say: “I’ve got a clean bill of health, but I still feel the way I do.”
That’s not acceptable.
And that is before we even get into prevention. If we then look at genomics and genetics, we have almost a crystal ball to look into the future and say, “This is where you are at risk.” That’s not about now. That’s about the future. That’s about prevention.
There is a big difference between identifying a problem and trying to prevent a problem. Unless both are included within your assessment, you’re going to miss something.
The vast majority of assessments try to identify a problem that is already there.
Undeniably, screening offers value for your current health. But where the real benefit lies is when we focus on prevention and performance, because that is transformative for future health.
Key extracts
- Health screenings and health evaluations serve different purposes.
- A screening often looks for a specific problem that may already be present.
- A health evaluation considers structure, function, risk, prevention and performance.
- Imaging, including MRI, can be valuable, but it should not be treated as a complete picture of health.
- A normal scan does not always explain symptoms such as fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety, digestive issues or pain.
- The most valuable health assessments look at current health, future risk and day-to-day performance together.
- Prevention and performance are where a health evaluation can become transformative.
How Reassuring Can a Health Screening Really Be?
Many people book a health screen because they want reassurance. They want to know whether anything is wrong. In some cases, this can be valuable. Screening can help identify existing problems, especially when it is well designed and targeted.
But the video raises an important question: how reassuring can a health screening really be if it only looks for certain things?
The vast majority of health screens have a defined focus. They are designed to answer a specific question: is there anything visibly wrong now?
That can be useful, but it is limited.
If your problem sits outside the areas being checked, a screening may not pick it up. You may receive a clean bill of health while still experiencing fatigue, poor sleep, digestive issues, anxiety, pain or a general sense that something is not right.
This is one of the biggest differences between a health screening and a full health evaluation. A screening may look for a disease. An evaluation looks at the whole person.
A clean result can feel reassuring, but it does not always mean your health has been fully understood. It may only mean that the specific things being checked were not found.
That distinction is crucial.
If a test is designed to look at structure, it may not reveal functional issues. If an assessment is designed to identify current disease, it may not explain why you are tired, sleeping badly or struggling with energy. If a screen is built around standard tick boxes, it may miss the deeper drivers of your symptoms.
This is why many people can have multiple health assessments, blood tests or scans and still feel unwell.
“You might get a clean bill of health because they actually haven’t looked at your problem.”
Structure vs Function: The Missing Piece in Many Health Screens
A key theme in the discussion is the difference between structure and function.
- Structure asks: does the organ or tissue look normal?
- Function asks: is it working properly?
Both questions matter.
For example, your liver may look normal on a scan, but that does not necessarily tell you everything about metabolic health, inflammation, energy production or detoxification pathways. Your digestive system may not show obvious structural disease, but you may still experience bloating, pain, discomfort or irregularity. Your brain may appear normal on imaging, but that does not fully explain cognitive performance, mood, sleep quality or fatigue.
A health evaluation goes beyond asking whether something looks normal. It asks how well the body is performing and what may be driving symptoms.
This makes it far more useful for people who want to understand not only whether they are ill, but whether they are functioning at their best.
But no symptom arises for no reason.
Fatigue has a cause. Poor sleep has a cause. Digestive complaints have a cause. Pain, anxiety, skin issues and reduced performance all deserve proper investigation.
A health evaluation is designed to look more deeply at these issues. Rather than stopping at “your results look normal,” it asks what else could be contributing.
That may include metabolic health, hormone balance, inflammation, sleep disorders, nutritional status, gut health, cardiovascular fitness, stress load, genetics, body composition and other functional markers.
The goal is to find the right diagnostics and functional testing to understand what is really happening.
The Three Areas a Proper Health Evaluation Should Cover
The video makes it clear that a meaningful health evaluation should look at three core areas: current health, future risk and performance.
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What Is Happening Now?
The first area is current health. Is there anything wrong now? Are there signs of disease, dysfunction or imbalance? Are symptoms being properly investigated?
This includes the type of screening many people are familiar with, but it should go deeper than a superficial check. It should use the right tests for the right person, based on symptoms, risk factors and goals.
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Where Is Your Health Heading?
The second area is prevention. A strong health evaluation should not only look at what is happening today. It should also ask where your health may be heading in the medium and long term.
This is where genomics, genetics and advanced diagnostics can be valuable. They can help identify areas of increased risk and support earlier intervention.
As the transcript explains, prevention is different from identifying a problem that is already there. Prevention is about understanding potential future risk and taking action before disease or disability develops.
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How Well Are You Performing?
The third area is performance. This is often missing from standard health screens.
Performance asks: how well can you feel? How much energy do you have? How well do you sleep? How strong, focused, resilient and capable do you feel day to day?
Many people are not only interested in avoiding disease. They want better energy, stronger cognitive performance, healthier libido, improved digestion, better sleep and a life with less discomfort.
A health evaluation should help answer those questions too.
“Undeniably, screening offers value for your current health. But where the real benefit is, is when we focus on prevention and performance.”
A 360-Degree View of Your Health With Viavi
At Viavi, health evaluation is designed to go beyond the limits of a conventional screen. Instead of focusing only on whether a specific issue is present, Viavi looks at the whole person: current health, future risk and performance.
This connected approach helps uncover the factors that may be affecting how you feel today, while also identifying opportunities to support long-term health and prevention.
Through advanced diagnostics, functional testing, expert clinical interpretation and personalised planning, Viavi helps clients understand their health in greater depth. The aim is not simply to provide results, but to translate those results into meaningful direction.
For someone experiencing fatigue, poor sleep, digestive symptoms, anxiety, pain or reduced performance, this deeper evaluation can be especially valuable. A normal scan or standard blood test may not explain why those symptoms are happening. A more holistic evaluation can help identify the systems, patterns and risk factors that need attention.
Take a More Complete View of Your Health
Health screening can be useful, but it should not be mistaken for a full health evaluation. If you want to understand your symptoms, reduce future risk and optimise your performance, you need a more connected view of your body.
Viavi helps you look beyond the tick boxes, combining advanced testing with expert interpretation to create a personalised health strategy built around you.
If you are ready to understand your health in greater depth, contact Viavi today to book your Advanced Health Evaluation.