July 25, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Avera Health.

Alongside the vacations, picnics and hikes of summer is preparation for the busy fall season ahead. That makes the summer months a good time for preventive health care, including scheduling a yearly checkup if you haven’t done so yet in 2024.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Your children may need a checkup or immunizations before going back to school.
• If you have a school-age athlete, they may need a sports physical. However, all members of the family, including kids, can benefit from a yearly preventive visit, and well-child checks usually are covered 100 percent by health insurance plans. A yearly preventive visit can count for a sports physical, but a sports physical does not count as a yearly preventive visit.
• If you have a student entering college, they may be required to have a physical before the fall term begins.
• Clinics get busier as the start of school approaches. The earlier you make an appointment, the better.

Adults need preventive care, too. While these visits can happen year-round, the year is already half over.

“In the best interest of your health, make sure you get an appointment scheduled before the end of the year,” said Dr. Kevin Post, chief medical officer for Avera. “If you’re due for a mammogram or colonoscopy, leave some margin in the coming months to get those tests scheduled as well.”

Many health insurance plans cover the entire cost of a yearly preventive visit and many preventive immunizations. Check with your health insurance company if you have questions.

Employers who provide health insurance as part of their benefit package can encourage their employees to take advantage of this health service that’s already covered. At the same time, yearly primary care visits can prevent more expensive and troublesome health events down the road, along with the absenteeism that can come with a major health issue.

“When asked why annual preventive visits are important, I think of the many times when early intervention for a patient likely prevented a serious event like advanced cancer, heart attack or stroke,” Post said. “When you see the same provider every year, they know you, and they have a better sense when something in your health has changed.”

At a preventive visit, your provider will review your health and well-being. Your provider will:

• Review your known medical problems and identify risk factors. This may include management of ongoing conditions like high blood pressure. If you need a renewed prescription or a change in prescription for your ongoing health maintenance, this appointment is the time to ask.
• Schedule recommended screenings and provide recommended preventive immunizations and exams. Summer is a little early to get fall vaccines for flu and COVID, but you can ask your provider for advice and plan to get your vaccines later in the season. Your pharmacy also may offer these vaccines.
• Review your medical, family, social and surgical history. Based on your family history, you may qualify to receive earlier or more frequent cancer screenings, including mammograms or colonoscopies.

A yearly preventive visit is a great time to ask questions about health topics that concern you. Maybe you want to lose weight, stop smoking or get a handle on depression or anxiety. A conversation with your primary care provider is a good place to start.

However, your yearly visit is not the time to expect testing or treatment for a new illness or a change in an existing condition.

“If there’s something new that’s come up in your health, it may need to be addressed at another office visit,” Post said. “Your provider can recommend if you should be seen again and when.”

An office visit may include additional testing such as lab or X-ray, and discussion of possible treatments or medications. You also may be referred to a specialist if needed.

You can ask for a combined appointment if you know there’s a new or existing health concern that needs additional attention.

Because addressing a health concern is different from a preventive visit, care at a follow-up office visit or combined appointment may come with an additional cost and not be covered 100 percent, depending on your health insurance coverage.

If you don’t have a primary care provider you see every year, it’s not too late to get established.

“You will benefit from an ongoing relationship with a health care provider you know and trust,” Post said.

Find a doctor at Avera, or learn about primary care services.