Reasons to See a Primary Care Provider
Feel fantastic? Not even a single ache?
You still need to visit your primary care provider or provider yearly.
Seeing a primary care provider isn’t necessarily about how you feel today; it’s about how you will feel in decades to come. Think of the provider as the first line of defense for your health.
Family providers focus on the whole body, the whole person. Their job is to keep people healthy for as long as they can be, living healthy lives from day one.
Annual well-visits, or health maintenance checks, not only allow you to establish a relationship with a provider, but also allow the provider to monitor your health through the years, performing needed screenings and maintaining a consistency of care that will help identify changes or problems early.
Annual checkups are tailored to each patient, based on age and history. For a younger, healthy person, the yearly exam might not include bloodwork, such as a lipid panel checking cholesterol and glucose levels, but if you have a family history of heart disease or diabetes, it might. That is why knowing the patient is key — the provider needs to assess risk factors.
Bloodwork can also check kidney and liver function, as well as potassium and sodium levels, all of which offer key insights into how well your body is functioning.
Primary care providers also perform screening for diseases that become more common as we age, including cancer. For people older than 50, a colonoscopy might be recommended. Women might receive a mammogram or a bone density test.
Sometimes, patients leave with information they didn’t have before and that allows them to be more proactive with their health.
More people have had annual checkups in recent years, likely because most insurance plans now cover them fully.
Be honest and open with your provider. Taking charge can prevent so many issues down the road.
The first step? Make an appointment.
Find a primary care provider near you today.
Need an Appointment? Use the Patient Connection Hub
Scheduling with a Baptist Health primary care provider is easier than ever through Baptist Health’s Patient Connection Hub. One toll-free call to 1.844.6BAPTIST (844.622.7847) via a mobile device can easily connect you to friendly access coordinators who can find the right provider, location and time slot for you, in any of our Kentucky or southern Indiana service areas, often while you’re still on the line.
The Hub team works directly inside our scheduling system, so they can secure new-patient visits, annual physicals and follow-up appointments without transferring you to individual offices, saving you hold-time and hassle.
