Feeling Great? Now Is the Time To See a Doctor

Think of your body as a car you will spend your entire life driving. Unlike when you buy a new vehicle, no one hands you a maintenance schedule listing all the things you need to do (colon cancer tests, for example) to keep your body running smoothly.

But if they did, at the top of the schedule would be a recommendation for regular visits to your primary care doctor – even when you feel perfectly fine. Depending on your age and overall health, those visits could be as infrequent as once every few years or as often as once every few months.

These checkups play a critical role in maintaining your health and catching potential problems before they become serious threats.

Detecting Problems Early

As you age, your body can be hurt by a host of chronic illnesses with few, if any, noticeable symptoms. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, for example, can wreak havoc with your heart before you have even an inkling they are there.

Often, these and other chronic illnesses are detected during a physical or routine medical test. Regular visits to your doctor will help you get an early start on treatment or prevention.

These visits also help your doctor establish a baseline for a variety of vital signs. Collecting your heart rate, blood pressure and weight, for example, can help your doctor keep an eye out for significant changes that could indicate trouble. The same is true for blood and urine tests to measure blood sugar, cholesterol and kidney function, among other things.

What to Expect During a Checkup

A regular checkup is your opportunity to learn more about the current state of your health. That’s best accomplished when you have an open conversation with your doctor about any changes in your health and any concerns you might have. If something is bothering you, tell them about it.

During the appointment, you can expect a thorough review of your personal and family health history. Regular physicals typically also include:

• Blood pressure check
• Heartbeat check
• Full body examination
• Discussion about mental health to screen for depression and other conditions
• Lab tests like a blood chemistry panel and complete blood count (These may be done at your doctor’s office or offsite before your appointment)
• Required immunizations and boosters
• A review of medications you are taking

Based on the results, your doctor may suggest additional tests or screenings. There may also be recommendations for changes in your diet, exercise or new medications to help with high blood pressure and other potential problems.

Your doctor will also remind you when it’s time for immunizations and key health tests, including colorectal cancer screenings, mammograms and lung cancer screenings.

How To Find a Doctor

Considering the importance of your primary care provider in your life, it’s worth investing a little time to find the doctor who is right for you.

An easy first step is looking through a list of doctors in your insurance plan network. Some plans will let you go outside the network, though you may have to pay more if you do. The plan’s website will likely offer a searchable database of doctors.

But before randomly selecting a doctor, see if any of your friends, neighbors, coworkers or family members have a doctor they like. Also keep in mind your own preferences. Maybe you want a male or female doctor. Maybe you want someone nearby.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices, call the office to make sure the doctor is accepting new patients and to confirm that your insurance is accepted. You may also want to know which hospital the doctor uses and whether he/she has any experience with specific conditions.

After you make your final choice, the process still isn’t over. You won’t know until you see your doctor for the first time (or more) whether you made the right decision. It’s critical for your health that you be able to develop a good rapport with your doctor. You need someone whose communication style works well with your own.

Does the doctor make you feel comfortable? Were your questions answered in a way that you understood them? Did you have enough time with your doctor? Did you feel respected?

Selecting a doctor isn’t a lifetime commitment. Don’t be afraid to start the process over if you feel the match isn’t right.