Health screening is important for all of us. The Sanlam wellness programme includes a pharmacy-based health screening service that is very valuable so let’s just review how it works…

Who can use this service? Any permanent employee of the Sanlam Group. This includes Sanlam, Santam, MiWay, and Brolink employees. Unfortunately the service is not available to family members, only staff.

What is offered? The pharmacy-screening service includes height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and HIV-status checks. These involve simple measurements and one finger-prick blood test.

Where can I go for this? You can go to any Dis-Chem, Clicks, or PicknPay pharmacy.

What do I need to take along? You will need your employee card and or employee number.

How often can I use this service? Each Sanlam-Group employee may undergo pharmacy-based screening once a year. Any second or repeat tests will be for your own account.

How long does it take? Typically the screening takes about 15 minutes.

Do I need to prepare myself in some special way? No. It is quite a good idea to fast (not eat) for 8-12 hours before the tests, but this is not essential (it will just make the cholesterol and blood sugar readings more accurate).

Is it private? Yes. Your results will never be shared with anyone except yourself and although the results are used in group reports etc., such data is always sanitized (identifying data removed) to protect your privacy.

What happens afterwards? The pharmacy will give you your results and they will discuss what the results mean for you. We strongly suggest that you discuss the results with your family doctor when you can. In some cases the screening results will be “marginal” or “borderline” i.e. on the threshold between normal and abnormal. This happens often with screening tests (it’s not a mistake but rather it is just the nature of a screening test) and in such cases it is usually best to see your doctor soon, with a view to follow-up laboratory blood tests to confirm or clarify results.