By Sasha Chavez, N.P.
Historically, people felt the need to seek medical attention when they were ill, felt under the weather, or near death. Many people say, “I feel fine, I don’t need medical attention” or “If it isn’t broken, why fix it?” Fortunately, the annual wellness exam has become a common practice for people who are hoping to head off health problems before it is too late.
The annual wellness examination is an opportunity to focus on disease prevention and health promotion. It can help you and your provider develop a plan on how to make healthy lifestyle decisions and prevent common medical complications. Maybe there are specific areas you would like to improve, such as nutrition or quality of sleep. Perhaps you have questions or concerns that do not rise to the level of scheduling an appointment immediately or that you might hesitate to bring up. The annual exam provides a steppingstone to develop a relationship between you and your medical provider. Medical providers use the wellness exam to evaluate how the body is performing and it is an opportunity for you to take greater control of your health and eventually improve your quality of life.
An average wellness exam may include but not be limited to the following components:
- Comprehensive exam specific to age, gender, and risk factors.
- Vital-sign monitoring that typically includes blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, as well as temperature, height, and weight.
- Medication management (risk vs. benefit).
- Chronic disease care, such as asthma or diabetes.
- Laboratory tests which may include a complete blood count, chemistry panel, lipid panel (cholesterol test), prostate-specific antigen (men only), thyroid panel, and urinalysis.
- Skin evaluation for dermatological health.
- Updated health history.
- Developmental, behavior, and/or psychologic health evaluation.
Additional differential screening tests for men and women may be requested.
Preventive care to offset chronic disease should be woven into all aspects of life, including where we live, work, learn, play and grow. When scheduling an annual wellness exam, you are making an important decision to take responsibility for your health and quality of life.
Sasha Chavez, N.P., specializes in Internal Medicine. She recently joined Dr. Dan Fairman at St. Luke’s Clinic – Internal Medicine and is accepting new patients at the St. Luke’s Wood River Multispecialty Clinic located in the Physician Office Annex at 100 Hospital Drive, Suite 201. Hours are Mon.–Thurs: 8 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. and Fri.: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. To make an appointment, call (208) 727-8888.
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