What is a check up? Once a year most insurances will allow you to have a preventative visit. This is not a sick visit and is also different than a typical problem-focused visit. This is not an appointment designed to review a list of complaints or symptoms. Instead, this is an opportunity for the physician to make sure any age appropriate health maintenance items/screenings are up to date (vaccines, cancer screenings, wellness counseling and prevention measures). These may include screening tests recommended by the United States Preventative Task Force. Examples are gynecological exams, pap smears, mammograms, prostate exams, colon cancer screening, blood pressure evaluation, vaccinations, diabetes screening and more.
The misconception of the “check up”: During a “check-up” or “physical”, the physician may identify other abnormalities or you may have other symptoms to discuss. However, in order to complete this thorough screening exam in the limited amount of time, the physician will prioritize prevention first and you may have to defer any non-urgent matters for another visit.
How can I learn more about my illness? We recommend using the Mayo Clinic education site as a good resource for general medical information about a condition.
What is a “Medicare Wellness Visit”? You may have received a letter from medicare about this. This is not a regular “check-up” or “physical”. A Medicare Wellness Visit is a medicare requested discussion with your physician to review pre-determined topics. This wellness visit does not include blood work or exam. However, at Pantops Family Medicine we feel it is a good time to also get the medicare covered services that are indicated. We can not get blood work in advance of this visit.
