What is Preventive Care?
What exactly does preventive care mean?
Preventive family medicine focuses on maintaining health and protecting against disease, disability, or death by educating the patient and making sure they have routine check-ups. Remember-you don't have to be sick to benefit from seeing your family provider. Here are just some of the preventive practices that children, teens and adults can adopt to protect their health for the long term:
Stay updated on immunizations
- Routine blood work
- Annual pap smears
- Blood pressure check
According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics in August 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) initiative. HP2030 was developed through a multiyear process with input from members of the public; public and private organizations; the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030, an independent federal advisory committee with subject matter experts; a diverse group of federal and nonfederal subject matter experts; and federal agencies HP2030 features a framework that includes its vision, mission, foundational principles, and overarching goals. In addition, HP2030 has a new slate of core objectives with targets, as well as new research and developmental objectives. Some of the goals for this decade include the following:
- Attain healthy, thriving lives and well-being, free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death.
- Create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining full potential for health and well-being for all.
- Promote healthy development, healthy behaviors, and well-being across all life stages.
- Healthy People 2030
Proper medical care is of the utmost importance for everyone at all ages. It is vital all member take full advantage of wellness visits as well as sick visits. Prevention is the key to promoting health. It's important to prevent infections and other medical issues before they become major issues. By connecting often with your provider for regular preventive check-ups, you and your loved ones are playing a big part in decreasing the healthcare economic footprint and join millions of others who support the prevention effort of Healthy People 2030 initiative.
Preventive Lifestyle Changes
Your family provider will inform you about ways to reduce your risk of certain health complications by changing your lifestyle. This may mean changing your diet, quitting tobacco, exercising more, or losing weight. Diabetes and heart disease are leading causes of death in the United States, and one of the best ways to prevent these conditions from affecting your family is to have routine exams and physicals.
During these visits, we can also identify certain problems or risk factors. Your partner in care may recommend ways to reduce your chance of developing issues like high blood pressure or high cholesterol in the future. By taking a proactive approach to your health, you can learn how best to avoid preventable illnesses.