Between ages 70 and 75, French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie) offers Mon bilan prévention, France’s national prevention check-up program: 30 to 45 minutes with a health professional, fully covered (100%), with no upfront payment. The goal is to preserve independence: prevent falls and undernutrition, keep an eye on memory, hearing and vision, review medications, and leave with a Personalized Prevention Plan.
What is the prevention check-up for ages 70-75?
The prevention check-up at 70 is the fourth and last of the prevention appointments fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance at key ages (18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75 inclusive). You can have it once between ages 70 and 75 inclusive, with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or midwife. It lasts 30 to 45 minutes; no extra fees can be charged. A nurse can carry it out at your home, with travel costs billable to French National Health Insurance.
It follows the program’s three steps: a self-assessment questionnaire specific to ages 70-75, filled in before the appointment (online in Mon espace santé, France’s personal digital health record, or as a PDF); choosing one or two priority topics together; then writing a Personalized Prevention Plan (PPP), sent to your regular doctor (médecin traitant) unless you object.
What sets this check-up apart from the earlier ones is its goal: independence. We look for what, in the years ahead, could tip an independent person into dependence: a fall, weight loss, a memory problem, one medication too many, isolation. You do not need to have had the prevention check-up at 60-65 to benefit from this one.
What changes when you turn 70?
At 70, most of the people we see are doing well and living at home. What changes is the safety margin: the body recovers more slowly from an infection, a hospital stay or a period of immobility, and one problem more easily leads to another.
In practice, we observe:
- a smaller muscle reserve: a few days in bed and strength visibly declines;
- balance that depends more and more on eyesight, the inner ear, the feet and medications;
- appetite that naturally decreases, while protein needs do not;
- memory that normally slows with age, which must be distinguished from an early disorder;
- a number of medications that rises with chronic conditions, and with it the risk of side effects;
- a social network that shrinks: retirement, widowhood, children living far away, friends falling ill.
None of these is inevitable: each can be spotted with simple questions and addressed with actions within everyone’s reach. That is exactly what the prevention check-up is for.
Which blood tests are recommended for older adults, and how often?
There is no “annual blood test for 70-year-olds” recommended for everyone, and the prevention check-up itself does not include a blood draw. How often you need lab tests after 70 depends on your chronic conditions and, above all, on your medications: your regular doctor decides.
What we monitor most often:
- kidney function (creatinine) and electrolytes (sodium, potassium) if you take diuretics or blood pressure medication, because the kidneys age and doses sometimes need adjusting;
- blood sugar or HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) if you have diabetes or a risk factor;
- a lipid panel to assess cardiovascular risk, which after 70 is estimated with the SCORE2-OP score, published in 2021 by the European Society of Cardiology for people aged 70 to 89;
- a complete blood count in case of fatigue, shortness of breath or weight loss, to look for anemia;
- specific monitoring required by certain treatments, such as follow-up of a vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant.
Routine vitamin D testing without a risk factor is not recommended, but supplementation is often discussed to prevent falls and fractures.
For an examination that includes lab tests, the preventive health examination at a French National Health Insurance health examination center (about 2 hours, fasting, fully covered at 100%) is available and can be combined with the check-up; see free health check: the preventive health examination.
Falls and undernutrition: how to prevent them after 70?
Falls and undernutrition are the two risks we put first in the prevention check-up at 70: they feed into each other and often come before a loss of independence. Both can be spotted with a few questions and a weigh-in.
Preventing falls
A fall after 70 is never trivial, even without injury: it signals a mismatch between the person’s abilities and their environment. We ask three questions: have you fallen in the past twelve months, are you afraid of falling, do you feel unsteady when walking. Then we look at the modifiable factors:
- strength and balance, with a simple test such as getting up from a chair and walking a few meters;
- medications that lower blood pressure or cause drowsiness (sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs, some blood pressure medications);
- eyesight and feet (shoes, pain, sensation);
- the home: rugs, lighting, bathroom, stairs;
- vitamin D and bone strength, so that a fall does not turn into a fracture.
The most effective lever remains exercise: programs combining balance and muscle strengthening reduce the risk of falling. Many towns offer “balance” workshops or adapted physical activity classes.
Spotting undernutrition
Undernutrition is common and underestimated because it sets in quietly: less appetite, skipped meals, clothes that hang loose. It weakens muscles, immunity and wound healing, and increases the risk of falls. We spot it through weight and how it changes over time, body mass index and appetite.
Prevention is practical: three meals a day, a source of protein at every meal (eggs, dairy, fish, meat, legumes), enriched dishes rather than larger portions, a healthy mouth and teeth, and not eating alone when possible. Weighing yourself once a month and writing down the number is one of the simplest prevention habits.
Memory and cognitive function: what happens during the check-up?
During the prevention check-up at 70-75, we talk about memory without making it dramatic: forgetting a name or looking for your keys is part of normal aging; getting lost in a familiar place, repeating the same questions, or no longer managing your paperwork or medications is not. The check-up is not meant to diagnose a cognitive disorder, but to pick up a complaint or a concern, yours or your family’s, and direct it to the right place.
If there is a complaint, the professional may suggest a short screening test or refer you to your regular doctor for a fuller assessment, possibly at a memory clinic. Several causes of memory problems are reversible or can be improved: depression, sleep disorders, certain medications, uncorrected hearing loss, a deficiency, a thyroid disorder. That is why the medication review and the hearing check are part of the same check-up.
In terms of prevention, what protects memory is much like what protects the heart: physical activity, controlled blood pressure, sleep, social life, intellectual stimulation, and correcting hearing and vision.
Medication review, vaccines, hearing, vision, physical activity: the other checks
The prevention check-up at 70 also includes a series of quick checks, often overlooked, that weigh heavily on the years that follow.
Medication review (adverse drug effects)
Iatrogenic effects are the side effects caused by medications themselves. After 70, they are a common cause of falls, confusion, digestive problems and hospital stays, all the more so as the number of medications rises and the kidneys clear them more slowly. Bring all your prescriptions and medication boxes, including over-the-counter products and supplements. The review checks, for each treatment, that it is still indicated, that the dose is suited to your age and kidney function, and that it does not duplicate another. The pharmacist plays a key role at this stage; any changes are up to the prescribing doctor.
Vaccinations
At 70-75, recommended vaccinations include the flu shot every year, the diphtheria-tetanus-polio booster, as well as shingles, pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccines according to the current vaccination schedule.
Hearing and vision
Uncorrected hearing and vision contribute to falls, isolation and cognitive decline. We ask when you last had a hearing test and an eye exam, and refer you if needed. Hearing aids are available with no out-of-pocket cost under France’s “100% Santé” scheme.
Adapted physical activity
Moving remains possible and useful at any age, as long as it is adapted: daily walking, balance exercises, light muscle strengthening, swimming or gentle exercise classes, the key being regularity. Supervised adapted physical activity can be prescribed by the doctor for people with a chronic condition or a loss of independence.
Isolation and caregivers: who keeps the plan going?
The prevention check-up at 70-75 explicitly addresses isolation, both a health risk factor and an obstacle to every other action in the plan. A person living alone eats less well, moves less, sees a doctor later and takes medications less regularly.
We ask direct questions: how many people do you see during the week, who would you call if you fell, do you take part in a group activity. The answers point to local resources: the municipal social services center (CCAS), associations, home help services.
Caregivers, spouses, children, neighbors, have a particular role. With your consent, they can come with you to the appointment, help fill in the self-assessment questionnaire, bring your prescriptions, then support the plan day to day: reminders, walks together, keeping an eye on weight or memory. We also encourage them to take care of themselves: caregiver burnout is a reality we see too late. If you are supporting a parent, booking their prevention check-up is a concrete first step.
Example of a Personalized Prevention Plan at 70-75
The Personalized Prevention Plan (PPP) is the document written together at the end of the check-up. An illustrative example: a 73-year-old widow living alone, two minor falls in the past year, six medications.
| Section | Example |
|---|---|
| My priorities | 1. Stop falling. 2. Regain weight and strength. |
| My obstacles | Afraid of going out alone since the second fall; little appetite in the evening; sleeping pill taken for years. |
| Concrete actions | Review of the six medications with the pharmacist, then the regular doctor, especially the sleeping pill; sign-up for the town’s “balance” workshop; a dairy product or an egg added to the evening meal; weigh-in on the first of each month. |
| Resources and people involved | Pharmacist; regular doctor; balance workshop; daughter for the first workshop; ophthalmologist for the cataract. |
| Follow-up | Call from the nurse at 1 month; appointment with the regular doctor at 3 months with the weight and the adjusted medication list; new review at 6 months. |
The plan is sent to your regular doctor unless you object, by secure messaging, via Mon espace santé or by you. Sections and other examples in the Personalized Prevention Plan explained; general framework in the prevention check-up explained.
Key takeaways
- The prevention check-up at 70-75 is a 30- to 45-minute consultation, once within the age range, fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance, with no upfront payment, and can be done at home with a nurse.
- Its goal is independence: falls, undernutrition, memory, medications, isolation.
- No blood draw: how often you need lab tests after 70 depends on your medications and is set by your regular doctor.
- Bring all your prescriptions and your vaccination record: the medication review and updating your vaccines are the quickest wins.
- With your consent, caregivers can take part in the check-up and help keep the plan going.
What Sokrate lets you do
The Sokrate service offers an online preparation questionnaire, which you can fill in alone or with a relative, so you arrive at the prevention check-up with your priorities already identified: falls, weight, memory, medications, isolation. The personalized plan is signed by a doctor, a letter is sent to your regular doctor unless you object, and a coordinating nurse handles follow-up. You can prepare your prevention check-up at 70 today.