Commentary by Debra Balos, DO
Preventive care is an important part of staying healthy and feeling good. For both adults and children, practicing good preventive care includes regular visits with a doctor to discuss overall health issues and determine appropriate schedules for preventive tests and other proactive health measures, such as immunizations.
All adults—even people without health concerns or symptoms—should see their primary care doctor once a year for a physical exam. Yearly exams give the doctor an opportunity to check wellness and identify health issues that may not be apparent to the patient. Physicians may want to see people with chronic health conditions and those taking daily prescription medications more frequently, depending on the situation. When visiting the doctor, it’s important to discuss when necessary preventive tests, such as cholesterol screening, mammograms or prostate exams, and colon cancer screenings, are needed. These are all tests that should not be missed. Blood pressure checks are also recommended, and doctors typically check a patient’s blood pressure during the yearly physical exam.
Regularly scheduled appointments are important for children from birth through the teen years. Generally, family medicine physicians and pediatricians recommend five or six “well-child” visits during the first year, scheduled at appropriate intervals, to assess general health and development. Frequent checkups continue through the second year and then beginning at age three, most doctors recommend annual well-child visits.
To make the most of any visit with a doctor, it’s a good idea to come prepared with a list of topics or questions you’d like to discuss. Be sure to write the questions down and review the list before you leave to ensure you’ve covered everything. During the discussion, if there’s something you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask the doctor to repeat the information or explain it in a different way. Your ability to follow your doctor’s advice depends on having a thorough understanding of the situation and what you need to do. Don’t feel embarrassed about asking a doctor to explain further or provide more detail.
Debra Balos, DO, specializes in family medicine. She is a guest columnist located at IU Health Physicians Family Medicine – Zionsville, 55 Brendon Way, Ste. 800, in Zionsville. She can be reached by calling the office at 317.777.6400.
