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The Annual Physical

michaelskis

michaelskis

Cyburbian
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We hear it all the time, prevention is key. An important element of that prevention is the annual physical. Depending on your age and health, it might be a bit on the invasive side. But understanding where you are at with your health is extremely important.

Having said that, I a super disappointed with my current health care provider. A few weeks ago I scheduled my annual physical and asked for a referral for a specialist. The annual physical consisted of getting my vitals (weight, height, blood pressure, O2 levels...) and a very basic blood panel. And that's it.

In the past there have been discussions about food & lifestyle, mobility & flexibility, a more comprehensive blood panel, urine test, checking my eyes, ears, noise, and many other things, and discussions about regular dental and eye appointments. But none of that occurred... but then again, neither did someone contacting me regarding the referral. After a week, I just took it upon myself to call around and get an appointment for well over a month from call. But it was the best that I could do because they didn't have a referral for me.

If this is how annual physicals are now classified, no wonder we are in a health crisis. I would switch, but this clinic is 100% covered by our health insurance, but I think I am going to bite the bullet and start paying a very high co-pay for a regular doctor.

Do you get annual physicals and if so, how comprehensive are they? Do you seek out additional information from other providers beyond that of your physicals?
 
Every year required by our health insurance.

Mine are fairly basic since I've been seeing the same doc for a couple decades. He's good at recommending something or open enough when I ask about something, he'll look into it. I've had a few specialists referrals & they've been good too.
 
The city started its own clinic a few years ago which I was somewhat suspicious. However, the care and attention has been spectacular. The PAs and Drs. aren't rushed and have time for us. They are typically open to conversations and are happy to have larger tests and panels run. We aren't required to use them, but don't have a copay and they keep regular generics in stock and provide freely.

I've been getting physicals on average twice a year with full blood panels and some specific panels dealing targeted needs.

It's also been great to get a sick kid in quickly.
 
I've got a severe case of "white coat syndrome" in that I tend to avoid the medical profession--just a collection of bad experiences early in life linked back to anesthesia resistance. But I do usually go for my physical, especially when I have questions. My last physical was the one that helped me start my weight loss journey in a sustainable way, in large part because he asked me about my eating patterns, etc. He didn't send me down the GLP-1 pathway since I had told him I don't really like taking medications and view "silver bullets" with a great deal of skepticism, but he did suggest an old-school appetite suppressor for the first month "just to get me past that first bump that gets so many people" along with some stuff to talk about with my therapist since part of my eating was "self-medicating."
 
My employer gives us a $250 incentive to get an annual physical. I have never partaken. We used to have a day where traveling nurses would come to our office and do some blood work and take our vitals and give us a very rudimentary health screening and we'd get $100 if we participated and I did do that. I don't have any phobia of doctors but this is one of those things where I guess I'm a stereotypical middle-aged man in that I feel fine so why would I go see a doctor?

I recently had a birthday and officially got one more step closer to being 50. I really should go get an actual physical... I haven't had one since I got out of the Marines in 2005.
 
They said I'm officially diabetic at my last annual physical. Have to take pills now.
 
I have an excellent PCP. I've followed her around three practices in the last 12 years. I have the "annual physical", the midyear checkup, and two telemedicine visits. I get a full blood panel done quarterly. I don't need a referral to see a specialist, so she just puts together a list of what she recommends, and I follow that and make my own appointments just making sure she gets a copy of the summary report. She's definitely the exception and not the rule and why I continue to see her after all these years.

Part of this is due to the nature of how medical practices are run-most are affiliated with large health networks, hospitals, and sometimes insurance companies. It's churn and burn patients through all day every day. I love my doctor because we always have candid discussions about the state of American healthcare and how the insurance companies and health networks have effectively diminished primary care and patient centered care.

In the last group she practiced with the business development officer for the health network told her she had too many Medicaid patients and she needed to refer them to the Federally Qualified Health Center clinic. She said absolutely not, I don't discriminate based on patients' health insurance coverage and we are an in-network provider. She's multilingual, a Muslim, and cares for many extended families with varying insurance coverage and immigration status. They reduced her pay by changing the incentive structure.

Her brother was also a physician but passed away unexpectedly two years ago so she took over his practice but now the former health network she was with before is trying to buy the group she's with now. She's very upset about this.

Generally speaking, as a diabetic and a cancer survivor I do keep on top of all my regular appointment such as eye exam, twice yearly dentist, the cardiologist every 5 years (he's great too), get the poop chute inspected every 3 years, and the lady bits periodically tended to as well. I manage my health conditions well and have no adverse side effects that are a cause for concern. Losing weight would be nice but it ain't happening without weight loss surgery which I am not particularly inclined to do.
 
michaelskis said:
Do you get annual physicals and if so, how comprehensive are they? Do you seek out additional information from other providers beyond that of your physicals?
Click to expand...
Yep, I am a big fan of the annual physical, and preventative care in general. Takes about five minutes. My wife worries about my heart, but my doctor has said several years in a row that I my heart look like a 30-year-old’s (I’ll be 50 next year).

I also get an annual eye exam and an annual MRI, and dental visits four times a year.

Jim
 
Like kjel - I have a collection of Drs.
PCP - seen twice a year
Dentist - 3x for cleanings
Cardiologist - once a yr due to that little surgery I had
Podiatrist - once a yr
Eye - once a yr
 
My father must have had a bad experience with Navy doctor(s) during WWII because he vowed he'd never see another quack. A vow he kept and that ultimately killed him, dying at home from congestive heart failure and/or prostate cancer, both easily fixable if he had been under medical care.

It was a good lesson for me to get over my own white coat terror, especially given my open heart surgery (CABGx3) and complex sleep apnea. They still yell at me about my initial BP reading at every visit, but once it settles back down after a few minutes, we move on with the visit. Thankfully, I ahve very good insurance to pay for these visits/tests/prescriptions.
 
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Im getting one done once the new job insurance kicks in Dec 1. Im afraid what the results will reveal, doctor already wants to put me on ozembic.
 
I had been seeing a PA or Nurse Practicioner for a while. She was good, helped me navigate ADHD drugs, then transitions from those. I could also talk to her about life and we could take that into account for my health issues. But she is moving about 3 hours away, and with my new job, all the in-network doctors are in Oregon (I live 30 mins away in Washington). So I need to find a new Doc I suppose. For now, I will rely on the refills remaining for my prescriptions and urgent care if care is urgently needed.
 
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