Imagine getting to a serious health problem before you have symptoms or being able to avoid getting sick at all by taking some simple, regular measures. That is the benefit of preventive care; a proactive style of care that is designed to keep people healthy, detect problems earlier when they are easier to treat and avoid unnecessary suffering. But what is preventive care Services exactly and why is worth your time. This introduction will cover everything you need to know.
What is Preventive Care?
Preventive care is medical services that help prevent you from getting sick, diagnose disease (in the prevention of disease stage), or reduce the risk of developing complications before you begin to show symptoms. Preventive care is a broad umbrella of services – it is unrelated to diagnostic care (for a diagnosis for which you have existing symptoms).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes cause 70% of the deaths around the world and many of the deaths due to chronic diseases are preventable with interventions in the earlier stage of disease. In the USA, 50% of all deaths every year are from preventable behaviours and exposure.
What Services Are Covered as Preventive Care?
Most health insurance plans cover 100% of the eligible preventive services (and you pay nothing out-of-pocket) if the service is performed by an in-network provider. Here’s a summary of the primary preventive services.
1. Screenings and Tests
- Cancer Screenings: Mammograms (age 40+), colonoscopies (age 45+), Pap smears (age 25+), lung CT scans (for former smokers).
- Metabolic Health: Blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes (blood glucose) screenings.
- Other: Bone density scans (for osteoporosis), depression screenings, and genetic testing for individuals at higher risk.
2. Immunizations
- Routine immunizations for children (measles, polio, HPV) and adults (influenza, COVID-19, pneumonia boosters).
3. Wellness Visits
Annual wellness visits with your primary care provider (PCP) for review, which include
- Review of vitals (height, weight, BMI)
- Examination of heart and lungs
- Counseling on age appropriate health topics (nutrition, smoking cessation).
4. The Preventive Services for Special Groups
- Children: Well baby/well child visits, developmental screening, lead poisoning testing.
- Pregnant People: Gestational diabetes screening, prenatal vitamins, preeclampsia prevention.
- Seniors: Annual Wellness Visits (Medicare), dementia screening, fall risk screening.
What is NOT Considered Preventive Care?
It is important to know the difference between preventive and diagnostic services:
- Preventive – any routine or annual test that is done without symptoms (ex. your yearly mammogram)
- Diagnostic – any test done as a follow-up for concerns associated with existing symptoms or abnormal results (ex. if you have a lump you would have a mammogram follow-up).
Here are some other services that are not preventive:
- Any visits to specialists (like a cardiologist).
- Any prescribed treatment for a given diagnosis (like insulin for diabetes).
- Any “extra” primary care visits because of being sick or injured.
Why is Preventive Care Important: 5 Benefits:
- Saving Lives by Early Detection: Conditions like cancer are far easier to treat when caught early. An example is that colorectal cancer screenings can reduce death by 67%.
- Saving Money: It is cheaper to prevent disease than treat it. For instance, chronic disease (like diabetes, coronary artery disease, heart failure) accounts for 90% of the cost of healthcare in the U.S.
- Longer Healthier Lives: Vaccination programs have saved 3.5–5 million people annually worldwide. Controlling high blood pressure reduces the risk of stroke by 35%.
- Empowerment: By knowing our risk factors (like family history), we can make better lifestyle decisions.
- Reduced strain on the system: If we reduce the number of emergencies and hospitalizations, we can only reduce costs, but free up resources for when they are truly needed.
Be Proactive about Your Health Now
Preventive care changes healthcare from reactive care to proactive care— it allows you to take charge of your health. You are taking the first step towards a better, healthier, and emphatically happier future simply because you have taken action by seeking the recommended screenings, immunizations, and by committing to physical exams.
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