Category Archives: Preventative Medicine

When you have one or more chronic illnesses, it can be very frustrating, time consuming, and difficult to stay organized with doctors’ appointments and medications. One of the best things you can do to help you keep things straight and to make sure all of your needs are being met, is to have one chronic disease management healthcare professional that can monitor everything about your health in one picture.

Having one doctor that communicates with all of your specialists has a lot of big advantages that equate better patient outcomes, including better pain management. Here are a few.

There is no doubt that these are scary times; and for the most part, people are pulling together and doing what they can to stop the spread of the coronavirus. While it is important to maintain social distancing and only go out when needed, there are some things that are essential that you should not avoid during quarantine. One of those things is your health.

It can be very tempting to put off healthcare visits that don’t seem important. You might think that a problem is minor and can wait until the situation improves. Unfortunately, sometimes those minor problems can worsen and become major medical issues. It is best to leave that decision up to the medical professionals familiar with how your symptoms might relate to a diagnosis.

With the current crisis, commercial truck drivers, especially over the road drivers, are in high demand. These essential workers are responsible for getting food and supplies delivered all over the country. As some drivers become ill or feel the need to stay home, new drivers are starting to hit the roads.

Before you can get your CDL and work for a trucking company, you have to go through a DOT physical. The Department of Transportation requires these physicals to ensure that you are in good enough health to manage one of these large trucks with trailers. If you have certain medical conditions that could incapacitate you while driving, you could be denied your CDL license.

With the new year quickly arriving, there are a lot of things that require your attention. It is important that you don’t allow your health to fall to the wayside in favor of handling other year-end tasks at work and at home. You should have an annual physical every year, and planning ahead to schedule it at the first of the year is the best choice. 

Preventative Medicine

Your annual physical is all about preventative medicine. During your physical exam, your doctor can help you identify areas of health concerns so that you can make lifestyle changes to prevent conditions or illnesses from occurring. This means less downtime, less time away from work, and fewer medical costs.

You may have heard that you should be having a complete examination on an annual basis, but did you know that there are also some lab tests that should be checked annually? These lab tests are usually done as part of an annual physical. But if you have not had these tests recently, you should consider getting them done. Here are three tests your doctor should be checking annually.

Metabolic Panel

A metabolic panel is a comprehensive variety of tests done on blood drawn to determine if there are any issues with glucose level, fluid balance, kidney function, and liver function. The metabolic panel aims for early detection of kidney, liver, and other health problems. 

Most women are conscious of their health, and your sexual and reproductive health is also important. Just as you should see your primary doctor each year for a complete physical and blood workup, so too should you be seeing your doctor for a well woman exam on an annual or biannual basis. Here’s what you need to know about well woman exams and why they are important.

What Is a Well Woman Exam?

A well woman exam will allow the doctor to check your reproductive organs and sexual health. The well woman exam may include a pap smear, a pelvic exam, or both, depending on the appointment and your age. Well woman exams detect issues with the reproductive or sexual organs.

Do you tend to go to the emergency room or urgent care when illness or injury strikes? You could be saving yourself a lot of time and money by having a primary care doctor. Your insurance company wants you to have one primary doctor that you see for minor ailments and disease management alike. Here are three great reasons to have a primary care doctor.

Managed Coordinated Care

When you have a primary care doctor, all of your healthcare professionals have one central point of contact. Your primary care doctor serves as the go between for all of your other healthcare professionals and specialists. Primary care doctors are usually the ones to discover medication interactions or conflicting therapies. 

You have probably heard that you should have an annual physical with your primary care doctor each year. Yet how often have you followed this advice? Many people skip their annual physicals because they feel they are in decent health and that it is not necessary. However, there are some very good reasons not to skip or put off your annual physical this year.

Routine Testing

There is some routine testing that should be done each year, especially as you get older and your risk factors increase. You should have your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and other routine blood work to ensure that there are no underlying problems waiting to be diagnosed. The metrics that are checked by your doctor during your physical are risk factors for other illnesses, and it is important that you know what they are and whether or not treatment is required.