When was the last time you visited your primary care doctor for a wellness visit? If it’s been over a year, you might want to pick up the phone. According to Albany, NY’s Urgent & Primary Care, this simple appointment can make a world of difference in the well-being of patients aged 65 or older. But before you can learn why, this renowned father-daughter team explains, you’ll need to understand the procedure itself.

Wellness Visits: A Comprehensive Guide 

What Are Annual Wellness Visits?

Wellness visits are not the same as physicals. A physical is an annual or bi-annual exam in which your primary care doctor inspects your body, checks your vitals, and measures your height, weight, and blood pressure. Individuals receive their first checkup when they first start school and continue throughout adulthood. While physicals may help your family care physician identify problems before they worsen, the exam aims to assess the patient’s current well-being. 

Wellness visits also include routine measurements of one’s vitals, but the appointment instead focuses on both the patient’s current and future well-being. That is, they are a fundamentally preventative exam designed to detect the health problems that often result from aging. It occurs every year after a patient turns 65, and Medicare fully covers its costs.

Why Are They Important?

As stated above, annual wellness visits are a preventative service. But why is prevention itself so important? As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Annual wellness exams allow you to avoid potentially serious, age-related health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Type II diabetes, and even heart disease. They also help you retain your independence, preserve your physical and emotional health, and ultimately achieve your personal wellness goals. On a national level, wellness visits and other forms of preventative care not only decrease instances of disease but also cut health care costs, meaning lower insurance premiums. 

What Can I Expect From One?

Now that you know what a wellness visit is and why it’s important, you may be wondering what to expect from the appointment itself. As previously mentioned, wellness visit includes the same basics assessments you’d find in a physical exam. However, it also consists of a conversation between you and your primary care doctor regarding your health history, current medication, and immunization schedule. From there, your physician will identify potential concerns and develop a preventative treatment plan. The visit may also include a health risk assessment and advance health care directives. 

On the day of your annual wellness visit, don’t forget to print out a list of all the medications, vitamins, and supplements you currently take. You’ll also need your immunization records and a list of all your health care providers including family care physicians, therapists, specialists, pharmacists, and home health agencies. This information will allow the primary care doctor who is administering the exam to deliver the highest quality of preventative health care.

As a senior, protecting your health is more important than ever. Don’t wait; call Urgent & Primary Care at (518) 463-8262 today to schedule your next wellness visit. For more on their experienced staff or the other preventative services they provide, check out their website.