Patients FAQs

By having a Health Assessment you can be empowered to have an in-depth analysis of your current state of health. An Advanced Health Assessment can identify risk factors that may negatively impact your health and specific conditions very early, often well before symptoms appear. If intervention is required this usually leads to simpler, more effective, and less invasive treatment. You will also have a greater understanding of your current health and the actions required to maintain optimal health and wellness.

We have tried to cater to a range of affordability and still provide maximum value.

All of our advanced health assessments are extremely comprehensive and broad in range but of course the higher the level you chose the more health data we can measure as there are more tests per level.

• Our Lumen One Assessment is a very comprehensive entry level health assessment suggested for those aged 35 and over who want a core health assessment. It is up to 4 hours.
• Our Lumen Two Assessment with MRI and Ultrasound is our main Advanced Health Assessment and is suggested for those aged 35 and over who would like a highly comprehensive assessment of their current health and lifestyle. It is up to 7 hours.
• Our Lumen Two Assessment (Without MRI) is a comprehensive health assessment for those who cannot have MRI scans and also suggested for the under 35 age category. It is up to 5.5 hours.
• Our Lumen Three Assessment is suggested for those over 40 who want a very detailed health assessment and includes a low-dose CT scan of the architecture of the coronary arteries.

(*Other tests and scans can be added if appropriate at any level)

No, you can simply contact us and book your Advanced Health Assessment without a GP referral. We would fully encourage our clients to share a summary of their Health Assessment with their GP for trusted continuity of care. This is particularly important in cases where a significant issue may have been found and with your informed consent we may communicate with your GP directly. In some cases clients have both a private and an NHS GP and we can send a summary copy of your detailed report to both if required.

Yes, we take all necessary precautions to ensure our facility is Covid safe. We understand the importance of providing this service to our clients at this difficult time.

We strive for medical excellence and our doctor-led friendly medical team delivers highly detailed health assessments in a brand new central London centre that are uniquely personal to you, in one place, in one visit. We are totally committed to preventive medicine and early detection.

We combine the latest advanced scanning technology with a world-class medical team all under one roof to deliver a Health Assessment that is centred around you, your body, your medical history, and your health. We know how busy modern life is and that your time is precious, so we have designed our health assessments to be seamlessly delivered in one visit with the majority of your results being available for a 1:1 doctor discussion at the conclusion of your assessment or very soon after.

If you are interested in understanding your current state of health and want to know how to maintain optimal health in the long term, then an Advanced Health Assessment at Lumen is right for you. Having a highly detailed snapshot of your current health internally and externally is empowering. We use the combination of very experienced doctors and highly advanced scanning technology within a custom-designed clinic to fully support you and provide a holistic picture of your health, delivering one of the most highly advanced and comprehensive Health Assessments worldwide.

In the main, the actual Health Assessment process is extremely safe and painless. The imaging modalities of ultrasound (sound waves) and MRI (radio waves) do not produce any x-rays and are considered very safe. There are some rare instances in which we cannot perform MRI scans for safety reasons, for example, in those with cardiac pacemakers, very recent coronary artery stents, or known metallic fragments in the eye.

CT scans do involve exposure to x-rays and so there is a theoretical risk of harm from this exposure, but with very modern, ultra-fast CT scanners this exposure has significantly reduced compared to earlier CT scanners and the balance of risk versus benefit has to be weighed upon an individual basis.

This would always be explained before any CT scan would be contemplated and no CT would be undertaken without a full risk assessment, discussion, and informed consent. We have one of the fastest CT scanners currently available which means that the radiation dose is minimal. CT scanning enables exquisite images to be taken of the precise architecture of the coronary arteries and can show both soft (more dangerous) and hard calcified (more stable) plaques within the artery walls down to a best-in-class resolution of 0.23mm. CT is also superior at imaging the lungs and is the gold standard imaging modality for lung cancer screening.

Some CT scans or additional MRI scans involve the injection of a contrast agent into a vein and there is a small risk of an allergic reaction, but our medical team is very well trained to deal with such a very rare event.

Taking a blood sample does involve a small risk including the risk of bruising even in the best of hands, but we take full precautions to minimise this possibility.

Some of our health assessments include an exercise ECG which involves running on a treadmill to assess exercise tolerance and the heart's reaction to physical stress and there is a very small risk of cardiac arrest but this is the same risk as exercising hard outside of a medical clinic such as in a gym or park. We do of course have resuscitation equipment to hand including defibrillators and our staff are well trained in CPR.

No medical test or scan can ever be 100% accurate and anyone claiming this should be avoided.

There is always the risk of a false positive or a false negative result in every test or scan.

A false positive means that a problem is identified but is later found not to be present or significant. A false negative is when a problem is present but not identified or detected.

It is important to be fully aware of this possibility, however with our highly experienced medical team, doubling up on testing and imaging modalities, and by using the most highly advanced scanning technology, we aim to minimise false positives and false negatives.

We think that the potential benefits firmly outweigh the theoretical downsides of a detailed health assessment and that many future problems can be avoided by taking more direct control of one's health.

Preparation is quite minimal. Before your health check, you will be asked to complete a comprehensive Health Questionnaire which gives our doctors a thorough picture of your medical background and lifestyle. There is a scanning safety questionnaire and a COVID 19 safety questionnaire to complete before your appointment.

You will be asked to fast for 6 hours before the check-up (unless you are a diabetic).

The checkups themselves are very detailed and require your undivided attention so you need to schedule adequate time for us to properly complete our tests and scans and the longer checkups might be a little tiring for some because of their extremely comprehensive nature.

All of the tests, consultations, examinations, and highly detailed scans are carried out under one roof at our new “state of the art” facility at number 17 Harley Street, using our world-leading scanning machines. This is quite a unique capability and a distinct advantage to busy professionals.

Some of the checkups include a detailed audiology assessment which is performed a few doors along Harley Street in a special soundproof room by a professional audiologist.

We have 4 different levels of health assessment.

Our Advanced Health Assessments are all very comprehensive and depending upon the level of check-up last between 4 hours (Lumen One) or to up to 9 hours (Lumen Three). The website gives more detail on this and a member of our team will be able to give you a clearer view when you book your assessment with us.

Our Advanced Health Assessment is designed to be highly personal to you, and the order and scope of the check-ups vary depending on the level.

On the day of your Health Assessment, you will arrive at our medical centre situated in Harley Street and be personally greeted by one of our friendly team, who will firstly ensure that any last-minute paperwork is completed. (although most will have been done beforehand)

You will then be shown to your personal locker and will be asked to change into a comfortable “MRI safe” tracksuit for your visit and you will then be led to our nurse's room where you will have blood tests taken and then some physiological tests and observations such as body composition, blood pressure and pulse.

Depending upon the level of check-up you will then undergo a detailed consultation and physical examination by our doctor and will then have a carefully choreographed series of scans in our imaging suite.

Once all tests and scans are complete you will be taken back to the changing room to get changed and then a detailed doctor consultation will follow either on the same day (Level 2-4) or later remotely (Level 1 ) to go through your results.

A full written final report including all of your results and a personalised action plan will follow within 10 working days sent electronically encrypted.

If requested a report will also be forwarded to your GP.

As you will appreciate, a highly personalised Advanced Health Assessment requires very careful planning and complex choreography of multiple components including booked scanning time, highly trained medical staff and several leading specialists to ensure you experience an assessment that is unique to you. We, therefore, must enforce a strict cancellation policy to cover this very expensive operation.

We will always do our very best to reschedule your Health Assessment to a later day if an emergency arises resulting in an unavoidable cancellation. However, you will understand that as part of our cancellation policy, a non-refundable fee may apply to cover the multiple costs of setting up machines and organising diaries to give you the best service possible.

The cancellation policy is a necessary part of our unique service and must be read and understood before booking the health assessment.

If you have any questions about our policy, please contact a member of the team who will be able to help.

The detailed and personal nature of our assessments means that abnormalities are not infrequently detected. However, the majority of these will be mildly abnormal results which may require just reassurance, simple monitoring, lifestyle advice or a discussion of possible medical treatments. There is always the possibility that something more serious could be found and rest assured we will take all the necessary time to talk any important findings through with you 1:1 with our doctors, who can best explain and advise you on what action to take next.

If it is considered that onward referral to a specialist is appropriate, you can either choose to be referred directly to a trusted private specialist or back to your GP for ongoing care whichever is thought to be the best course of action. In any case, we would always advise that your GP be informed as soon as possible so that ongoing action can be seamlessly instigated. Excellent communication is an integral part of excellent healthcare. We want to help facilitate your GP to have as much useful but succinct information as possible from your assessment.

At all check-up levels, we take a full breast health history including family cancer history, and perform a physical breast examination by an experienced doctor.

If a mammogram and/or breast ultrasound is clinically indicated we can recommend this or arrange for it to be performed.

We do not have on-site mammography facilities as we believe that this should be performed in a dedicated breast centre where there are on-site facilities available for triple testing should a significant underlying problem be discovered.

Mammography is still the gold standard screening test for breast cancer detection and if a mammogram or breast ultrasound is clinically indicated we can usually arrange for this to be performed ideally either at the same visit, (at an additional cost) by a nearby breast centre very close to our facility or on a different day. We have a good collaboration with nearby breast centres of excellence so that this is rarely an issue.
(Our standard MRI and US scan profiles do not include specific scans of the breasts.)

This depends on your personal circumstances and takes into account your age, risk factors, and the results of your original health assessment.

Ideally, we would suggest undergoing a health assessment every year if you are aged over 50 and every 18 months if you are under 50. If specific abnormalities are detected, then more focused scanning on a particular area of the body might be suggested at an earlier interval. Your report will suggest an appropriate follow-up interval, but this is generally between 1-2 years.

For our Individual Clients, we prefer the use of BACS as a means of securely transferring funds. We can take credit card payments but these need to be done in person to comply with PCI-DSS requirements.

In our experience, we find that the vast majority of Health Insurance companies and UK medical insurance policies do not cover the cost of preventive Health Assessments.

There are of course exceptions. Most policies cover specific diagnosed conditions but not preventive medical checks. If a specific medical problem is identified and requires an ongoing referral, you are advised to consult your Insurance company Helpline to discuss your cover.

We are always happy to help if possible.

Both non-emergency MRI and CT scanning are contraindicated in pregnancy, and while we can safely perform ultrasound and blood tests during pregnancy, we would generally recommend that you wait until after you have your baby before attending for a health assessment.

This should not be a problem as our 3 levels of health assessment do not routinely involve giving you any sort of contrast agent. Do however mention this at the time of booking so that we are aware.

We are committed to ensuring that people with disability and their families and carers are not discriminated against in any way and that they have access to the full range of services, facilities, and information we offer.

If you have a disability and are visiting Lumen for an appointment or treatment, please let us know before you attend so we can discuss what support you may need.