Staying healthy requires more than just watching your diet and exercising every week. There are also important types of preventive medical care that need to be done as well with your family care physician. According to Forbes, adults in the U.S. who have a primary care provider have 19% lower odds of premature death than those who only see specialists for their care when needed. Preventative care is crucial to your long-term health. Let’s look at some reasons why preventative care is so important.

Updated Medical History

When you have regular checkups with a primary doctor, your medical history will stay more up-to-date. This means that if medical events or illnesses have surfaced in your immediate family since your last checkup, your doctor can calculate this information into your risk factors for other conditions. When your doctor doesn’t have this information, there is no way of knowing if you have growing risks for certain diseases or conditions. Going to your regular checkups is the only way to do this.

Necessary Medical Screenings

Medical screenings are one of the most effective ways to catch certain conditions and diseases early. Early detection makes it possible for early intervention. Without early intervention, many conditions can worsen quickly and harm your health. As you grow older, different types of screenings will need to be added to your health checkup.

Health Improvement Advice

Another helpful aspect of preventative care is that when you visit your doctor, they’ll have the opportunity to provide you with necessary health improvement advice. This type of medical care helps you to identify areas of your life and physical condition that could use work to decrease the chances of other problems arising. For instance, if your blood work shows pre-diabetic tendencies, your doctor will be able to advise you on steps you can take to start correcting this issue before it turns into diabetes.

Prescription Updates

Regular doctor visits are also necessary to make prescription updates. Your medication needs may change over time, and if changes aren’t made promptly then you could have negative effects on your health.

These are just a few ways that preventative medical care can help you. If you’re looking for a family care physician in your area, we are here to provide you with quality medical services and preventative health care. Please call Hitchcock Family Medicine today to schedule an appointment.