26 Sep 2015

How useful is medical testing?

From This Way Up, 12:30 pm on 26 September 2015
Dr Michael Mosley

Dr Michael Mosley Photo: Supplied

Science journalist, TV presenter and bestselling author Dr Michael Mosley has been putting himself through a barrage of medical tests in the hope of discovering 'Are Health Tests Really a Good Idea?' the title of his latest documentary broadcast on the BBC.

Medical testing is a huge business, and is available to people feeling perfectly fit and well. From a high res heart scan to sending off your DNA for analysis, you can pay to find out how likely you are to develop and die from a particular health condition. But do you really want to know, and what can you do with this information?