To optimize use of the limited resources of the Tennessee State Employee Health Service, health risk and abnormality rates were tabulated for employees screened in the multiphasic screening program in 1983. Histories and health questionnaires revealed many more preventable or correctable health risks and abnormalities than did laboratory or physiologic tests or physical examinations. No previously unknown abnormalities were located by physical examination alone. The authors conclude that health history, risk appraisal, and counseling may be the most productive elements of a preventive screening program for employed groups, as well as for the general population.