What Annual Wellness Visits Reveal About Your Health

Many primary care doctors urge their patients to schedule a yearly physical to check in on their health. An annual wellness visit can give you valuable information about your health status and how your lifestyle plays into it. 

Our board-certified family physicians at Westmed Family Healthcare invite people of all ages in the Westminster, Colorado, area to book annual wellness visits. Generally, anyone two years or older can benefit from a physical, even if they feel well. Our practice also offers infant care. 

At Westmed Family Healthcare, Clifton Etienne, MD, Michael Cavanagh, MD, and Flora Brewington, MD, take account of your medical history and tailor your physical exam based on your needs and risks. 

Here’s what you can expect at your next annual wellness visit and what you’ll learn. 

What a wellness visit involves

During an annual wellness visit, you’ll discuss your medical history and any current concerns with your provider. We also review your current medications and ask about their effectiveness. 

Your provider then gives you a physical exam, evaluating various parts of your body and their function. This includes your:

• Eyes
• Ears, nose, and throat
• Heart
• Lungs
• Abdomen
• Nervous system and reflexes
• Mental health

Based on your age and risk factors, your annual physical might involve additional tests and screenings like a prostate or breast exam. Your annual wellness visit also helps you keep up with other parts of preventive care, like vaccinations. 

Finding out your health measurements

Your annual wellness visit provides various measurable parameters that give insight into your current health status. By tracking these measurements every year, we can see trends in your health. We measure your: 

• Height
• Weight
• Heart rate
• Blood pressure

Based on your needs, we might do blood tests or other lab work to get more information, such as your blood sugar, cholesterol, or hormone levels. If anything seems abnormal, we may recommend further testing or treatment. 

Using your wellness visit to your advantage

Your provider tells you what the overall results of your physical exam mean for your health. Based on our findings, we create a personalized preventive health plan to keep you healthy moving forward. 

We might suggest changes to your diet or lifestyle. We can also give you tips to help you get more exercise, stop smoking, get better sleep, or reduce your stress. You can set your own goals to work toward before your next annual physical. 

Sometimes, annual physicals and screenings help identify signs of diseases or conditions before they cause symptoms. If your annual wellness visit reveals concerning information about your health that can’t be addressed with easy lifestyle changes, we can prescribe or adjust medications. 

Schedule with us today

Are you and your family due for annual wellness visits? Don’t wait. Call Westmed Family Healthcare today to book an appointment, or schedule one online anytime.