What are the risks and benefits of getting an annual checkup from your doctor? Physicians and patients have come to expect the annual checkup as a routine part of care. “However, considerable research has not demonstrated a substantial benefit,” notes a discussion paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The result is a revolt against the tradition of the periodic checkup. “Even the Society for General Internal Medicine advised primary care physicians to avoid ‘routine general health checks for asymptomatic adults,’” the paper notes. As I discuss in a video made on this topic, routine checkups do seem to make sense. But, historically, medical practice has included all sorts of interventions that seemed to make sense, but were later to have significant side effects. One example is hormone replacement therapy for menopause, which was later found to increase risks of breast cancer, blood clots, heart disease, and stroke. “History repeatedly shows that …