The natural aging process comes with an increased risk of developing certain chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers. While traditionally people would only present to the doctor when they felt sick, it is becoming increasingly important for patients to obtain routine care to maintain their health.
Preventive care includes services to prevent, diagnose, and treat medical conditions before they become a serious problem. This can reduce overall healthcare costs and lead to a healthier, longer life. Despite the numerous benefits of preventive care, many Americans do not receive the recommended screenings and services. Understanding the importance of regular check-ups, vaccinations, and early detection can make a significant difference in health outcomes. For more detailed information on how to effectively manage your healthcare needs, you can explore our resource on comprehensive primary care and its benefits. By staying informed and proactive, individuals can better navigate their healthcare journey and take full advantage of the preventive services available to them.
In this article, we will describe what is preventive care, the different screenings and services it includes, and other important considerations that can keep you and your family healthy.
What Is Preventive Care?
Preventive healthcare services describe a broad range of actions patients and providers can take to help prevent and manage chronic health conditions. These actions can include screening tests and labs, preventative medicine and vaccines, and patient behaviors and dietary modifications.
Preventive care can be initiated at your Medicare annual wellness visit or preventive check-up with your primary care doctor. The care provided typically falls within one of these three types of preventive care.
- Primary prevention. Services to prevent a disease from occurring, including weight loss, vaccines, and smoking cessation.
- Secondary prevention. Services to diagnose a health problem early to improve treatment choices. These can include mammograms and colonoscopies.
- Tertiary prevention. Services to help manage current health conditions to prevent complications and improve health outcomes.
Regardless of the type of preventive care, your primary care provider is essential in helping arrange, educate, and review all your preventative healthcare needs.
Preventive Care for Adults
Preventive healthcare services for adults include screenings for chronic health conditions; vaccinations for flu, COVID-19, and pneumonia; and counseling measures to promote healthy lifestyles. Depending on age and family history, certain screening tests and counseling measures will be recommended by your primary care physician. These can include:
- Cancer screenings such as mammograms, pap smears, prostate exams, and colonoscopies are recommended to identify cancers early in their development.
- Laboratory tests to screen for conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and vitamin deficiencies.
- Questionnaires and counseling to identify patients who need additional services for better management of various health conditions.
- Vaccinations are used to prevent the development of illnesses or minimize complications once contracted.
Preventive Care for Children
Preventive care is utilized in children to identify conditions that can benefit from early treatment or interventions, as well as prevent serious illnesses. During childhood, wellness checks are scheduled at appropriate screening intervals and promote healthy childhood development.
The most common screening and preventative measures used in children include:
- Immunizations. Polio, measles, mumps, and rubella are just a few serious illnesses that have been drastically reduced through modern vaccination schedules.
- Wellness exams. Growth charts and developmental milestones are used to identify children who have conditions that can affect normal development.
- Screening tests. Assessments are administered to identify children suffering from depression, autism, and other developmental conditions.
- Blood tests. Screening for lead poisoning, vitamin deficiencies, and anemias can ensure the proper development of a child.
Health Benefits of Preventive Care
Scheduling a preventative check-up can be one of the most beneficial actions to better your health. Whether it is a Medicare wellness exam or telehealth visit, obtaining preventive care can provide the following benefits.
- Early Detection. Recommended screenings can help identify concerns and medical conditions early, resulting in more effective treatment at a lower cost so you can live happier and healthier.
- Reduce risks of disease. Regular testing can help guide health choices and put you in charge of your health. Targeting problem areas early can help prevent the development of certain diseases.
- Increased longevity. Screening catches conditions early and leads to a longer, healthier lifestyle.
- Lowers healthcare costs. Preventative healthcare services can reduce the need for hospitalizations and expensive treatments providing significant healthcare savings.
- More time doing what you love. Reducing the effect of chronic diseases allows patients to spend less time at doctors offices and more time enjoying life.
Does Insurance Cover Preventative Care?
Most healthcare plans are required to cover preventative care without the need to pay a copay or deductible. While certain screening tests have age requirements (i.e., mammograms starting at 40 years of age), your annual physical or wellness exam for Medicare is available for all eligible patients.
During a Medicare annual wellness visit, your provider can help determine all the screening tests required each year and provide the referrals to aid in setting up those appointments. This can ensure you are maximizing your health insurance benefits and obtaining the best care possible.
Understanding the difference between a preventive test and a diagnostic test
A preventative test is ordered before you have any symptoms of the disease and is used to screen for the disease. This would include a fasting blood sugar test on your annual exam to screen for diabetes.
However, a diagnostic test is performed to either diagnose a medical condition or to monitor an already diagnosed disease. Using the same example, this would be when your doctor orders a fasting blood sugar test to determine if a new medication is helping your diabetes control (i.e., diabetes has already been diagnosed).
Why does this matter? Insurance companies will often pay for a preventative test without requiring a copay or deductible. But for diagnostic tests, according to your specific insurance plan, a copay or deductible could apply to the service.
In Summary
Preventative care is one of the most influential measures one can take on their health and is a major focus of Complete Health practitioners. These services are used to identify areas needing improvement and detect diseases when they are easier to treat. This allows our patients to live healthier, longer lives and reduce their overall healthcare spending.