An annual wellness visit is a yearly visit with your primary doctor to go over all of your recommended health screening tests. The best Kingwood family practice nurse practitioner at Supreme All Care Health and Wellness, Patrick Rhodes, offers patients comprehensive and personalized care to help them manage their health and preserve wellbeing. Here is what your physician would like you to know about making the best out of your yearly wellness visits.
What Is a Physician Looking for at Your Annual Wellness Visit?
The essential thing about these appointments is to keep you healthy. A physician is looking to:
- Prevent disease from occurring through administering immunizations and screening patients. Physical exams are also critical components of disease prevention.
- Diagnose any problems that a patient may be having and is unaware of or are suspecting.
- If a patient has a chronic illness, an annual visit is an excellent time for the physician to optimize that medical problem. The patient has more minor issues dealing with that disease process.
Essential Things You Need to Carry to Your Annual Wellness Visit
One of the most important things to ask yourself is getting the most out of your visit and what you can do to improve it. If you visit a new doctor, your medical history is a vital part of what you should carry to your appointment.
It is crucial to have a list of all the medications you are taking with you if possible because you never know when you will end up in the hospital.
It is also good to list your allergies, chronic disease problems, what screenings you have done, along with immunizations. When you visit, your doctor will put all those details into the system to update your chart.
If you have a list of problems you want to address, it is better to have as much as possible upfront, making the consultation faster and thorough.
What Kind of Questions Should You be Prepared to Ask?
Your doctor will walk through many things, including screening for mental health issues and weight concerns for overweight or underweight patients. Nutrition is the key to health. Bringing questions about diet is excellent, any inquiries concerning medications you are on, and asking the doctor if any new prescriptions have come up are perfect for staying updated.
It is vital to be aware of the different kinds of physician training:
- Family medicine doctors see all kinds of patients; from different age groups and gender.
- Internal medicine doctors see patients aged 18 and above. These doctors have more hospital training and are more clinic-based.
- Geriatric doctors also practice in a hospital or a nursing home.
The key to choosing the right doctor is considering the one that makes you feel most comfortable. Choose a doctor that is interested in your health and you as a person. Medicine is a broad specialty, and no doctor can know everything.
Supreme All Care Health and Wellness offers a more streamlined appointment booking process. Call their offices to schedule your annual wellness visit.