FAQ related to Healthcheck

Your Healthcheck information is not currently available to your MyCare doctor in order to provide the most relevant data to a doctor through your medical record and to mitigate risk to you, as a user.

As we anticipate that users will want to experiment with their Healthcheck answers on initial release in order to see how this affects their risk, we have decided not to incorporate the information gathered by Healthcheck in the medical record at this stage, as that could create a risk to the user.

The Healthcheck information provided is based on the answers you enter (information about risk factors) but it is not personalized to you. In other words, a person that enters the same risk factors will receive the same information. Additionally, there may be unknown risk factors for particular diseases that would increase or decrease your actual risk.

We measure absolute risk as the chance that a given disease might, in purely statistical terms, develop over the next 5 years. This is best interpreted as follows: A 0.3% absolute risk of developing a heart condition is otherwise phrased as a “3 in 1000” risk. This means that if 1000 people provided identical question responses the statistics suggest that 3 people might develop that particular condition over the next 5 years.

A number for absolute risk can be calculated but it is much harder to define what is “high” or “low” risk. As such, we also provide a comparison of the statistical risk profile to others of the same age and gender, presented as the disease risk bar. We produce this bar by simulating a large population of people of the same age and gender and producing risk profiles for them and then sorting these profiles in order from lowest to highest absolute risk. We then place the profile a user creates on this bar to illustrate the risk profile position relative to this simulated population, based on the information provided.

The green section of the bar represents the risk profiles below the “median” risk profile position. Amber and red represent those above the median, with red being those significantly above (specifically, those more than a standard deviation of the absolute risk values above the median risk value).

Being in the red section does not mean the information entered suggests “high” risk, only that that information suggests more risk in statistical terms than other people of the same age and gender. Increased age in most cases results in the risk level increasing.

Being more toward the amber and red sections will be correlated with a higher risk caused by specific risk influences. In many cases, there will be healthy lifestyle suggestions that could be made (such as reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking, etc.) which are known statistically to reduce the risk level.

In other cases, elements such as a family history of a disease may be a strong influence on risk and are non-modifiable. Again, this may result in a higher risk than someone of equivalent age and gender, but does not necessarily result in a high risk overall.

The mental health section of Healthcheck comprises 2 separate aspects: Self-assess and disease risk. The self-assess component profiles the user at this moment in time for signs of possible mood disorder, low self-esteem or high-stress levels, but does not actually diagnose a user with a medical condition such as depression.

The disease risk component gives the user an indication of their statistical likelihood of developing depression and anxiety in the next 5 years. These indications are based on multiple risk factors, including a previous diagnosis of depression (for the depressive disorder).

As there is no direct evidence for how a particular score on a self-assess questionnaire (as opposed to a confirmed diagnosis) affects the future risk of depression or anxiety, we cannot incorporate these into our indications.

Therefore a user may have a high anxiety self-assess score but a low indication of future risk of generalized anxiety disorder, and vice versa.

Healthcheck makes use of the information entered to build a condition risk profile, and shows how each risk component (such as alcohol intake, smoking) could, statistically, influence the chances of different diseases developing. We have used extensive epidemiological research to quantify general disease risk factors and compare the risk factors to the information entered. This is based on Canadian population-level data.

Healthcheck may ask questions about more sensitive topics like your sexual health or drug use in order to best provide an accurate report on your health and disease risks.

For example, it may ask questions like if you have used cocaine, as it’s one of the most common drugs that can have a great impact on your health.

All personal health information you input into the Healthcheck assessment is governed by our privacy policy, confidentiality and data security provisions apply at all times. However, you can choose not to answer this question if you’d prefer.

The scoring system is built from population-based epidemiological data for diseases and their associated risk factors, gathered primarily from observational studies of populations. As such, a risk score can be considered reflective of the typical individual in the population for whom the questionnaire responses given match those of the user.

The model has been tested against individual outcomes for a subset of diseases using a large longitudinal population study. Areas in which the risk score may have less accuracy include, but are not limited to:

However, please remember that the disease risk calculation is based on statistics, is not personalized to you and is designed to show how lifestyle factors may impact disease risk in statistical terms. The information is not a substitute for a doctor and should not be relied upon.

All personal health information you input into the Healthcheck assessment is governed by our privacy policy. We hold all personal data with appropriate technical and organizational measures taken to protect the information in accordance with federal and provincial privacy legislation.

Healthcheck is an innovative feature that enables users to get practical insights into theirf physical and mental health in order to make positive lifestyle changes.

Answer questions about lifestyle and family history to generate a health assessment that provides practical insights for staying healthy, including disease risks and other long-term health insights.

There are 3 Healthcheck assessment questionnaires to choose from: Activity, nutrition and mood. These can be completed separately or all at once.

Within the Healthcheck assessment, TELUS Health MyCare™ has incorporated the latest epidemiological data and research evidence to show you factors that may influence disease risk, and provide health information based on the factors entered, for example, family history, environmental and lifestyle factors.

Please note that neither this profile nor other outputs constitute medical advice, diagnosis or act as a substitute for a doctor or other healthcare professional.

The Healthcheck information provided is based on the answers you enter (information about risk factors), but it is not personalized to you. In other words, a person that enters the same risk factors will receive the same information. Additionally, there may be unknown risk factors for particular diseases that would increase or decrease your actual risk.

You can speak to a healthcare provider or use features like Healthcheck using either an iPhone (iOS 12 and above) or Android (Android 7.0 and above) smartphone via the TELUS Health MyCare™ app.

Healthcheck can currently provide general information on the following 20 conditions: Acute myocardial infarction, stroke, brain hemorrhage, chronic obstructive lung disease, dementia, cirrhosis, migraine, stomach cancer, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes simplex, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, hepatitis B, lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, and prostate cancer.

Our criteria for which diseases are included in Healthcheck are based on the burden of disease in Canada. This is based on health metrics such as prevalence, incidence, mortality and disability. In addition to these diseases, other conditions were included at our clinicians’ discretion based on achieving a range of disease severities and a range of organs affected.

Information about the definition, main symptoms, age/gender usually affected, and method of diagnosis has been compiled by Babylon’s in-house clinicians from various reputable medical resources.

Healthcheck is a feature included in the TELUS Health MyCare™ app. It can be used to better understand your physical and mental health in order to make more informed lifestyle choices.

The foundations of Healthcheck are based on statistical evidence and guidelines for adults, and are therefore only suitable for users aged 18 years or older. They are also not applicable to pregnant women because pregnancy affects the body’s physiology to a huge extent for a finite period of time. This makes it extremely complex for Healthcheck to cover women who are currently pregnant, and we have not created this functionality at this time.

When using Healthcheck, please note that only certain risk factors, and data from population averages, are used in calculating disease risk and nutrition/activity guidance. Therefore users with long-term medical conditions or disabilities may have different needs and risks than shown. It should also be noted that risk profiles are generated on the assumption that all lifestyle and risk factors will remain the same for the foreseeable future.

You will need to make sure that your app is updated to the latest version, as well as have 2GB of RAM in order to access the Healthcheck feature.