Ways to Focus on Health When You're Well

An annual wellness exam with your doctor can be easy to overlook, but it is essential for getting good care. Primary care providers – like internists, family medicine doctors, geriatricians and pediatricians – recommend having a wellness visit once a year.

Establishing care with a primary care provider (PCP) is especially important because they are your central point of contact in our patient-centered medical home. A PCP can manage your care among multiple specialists, coordinate recommendations and provide continuous assessment. Additionally, establishing a relationship with a PCP at the health system may mean you don’t have to schedule wellness visits as far in advance, can be seen more quickly when you’re sick and generally have better access to care.

A wellness visit is a conversation. These appointments last longer than sick visits because doctors want to get the full story of your health history and get caught up on anything that has happened since they last saw you.

Your doctor will also discuss whether you need to get any screenings, labs or blood tests done. Jennifer McRae, MD, internal medicine doctor at the health system, says that routine labs may not be required every year if you are healthy. However, if insurance covers preventive labs annually, your doctor may recommend getting them.

Speaking of prevention, there’s a lot of focus in wellness visits about what good health habits you’ve established and how to stay healthy.

“With a younger person, we’re identifying things that might be a risk in their personal or family history and trying to figure out how to keep them healthy,” says Dr. McRae. “As people age, visits become focused on making sure we address risk factors – like treating high blood pressure or high cholesterol.”

Finally, discussing mood and mental wellness is an important part of these visits.

Doctors recommend scheduling one wellness visit a year. If possible, schedule next year’s visit at the end of your wellness appointment. At a minimum, you should call 90 days in advance of when you’d like to schedule your visit.

Depending on your health history, you may need additional wellness visits. For example, you might need to schedule a routine gynecologic exam with your OB-GYN or midwife. Children may need more than one wellness visit per year with their pediatrician to receive immunizations and well-child care. It's important to talk with your provider at the wellness visit about any additional appointments you might need to schedule.

“Primary care providers are there to try to help you feel the best that you can and live the best life – have the relationships and do the activities that are important to you,” says Dr. McRae. “We want to see you, and we want to help you.”