Perspective - (2021) Volume 11, Issue 8
Preventive care aids in the detection and prevention of significant diseases and medical issues before they become critical. Preventive care includes annual checkups, vaccines, and flu injections, as well as specific tests and screenings. This is also known as routine care.
Preventive care refers to the methods or actions used to avoid disease rather than treat it. The primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention levels are commonly used to define preventive care practices [1]. Individuals, communities, and defined groups are the focus of preventive medicine. Its purpose is to avoid disease, disability, and death by protecting, promoting, and maintaining health and well-being [2]. Preventive medicine specialists are licenced medical doctors (MDs) or doctors of ostheopathy with core competencies in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental and occupational medicine, health service planning and evaluation, health care management, research into the causes of disease and injury in populations, and clinical medicine prevention. They put medical, social, economic, and behavioural science knowledge and talents to use [1].
Preventive care Vs Diagnostic care
Diagnostic care refers to services in which your doctor is looking for something specific, usually based on the findings of a screening or preventive test. A radiologist, for example, may request a follow-up mammography for a patient. This follow-up is to see if anything was discovered during the preventative or standard mammography. The diagnostic follow-up mammography is not covered as preventative care [2].
Preventive care services
The following are some examples of preventative health services and how frequently they are used:
Annual Health check-up: This is when your Primary Care Provider examines both your physical and mental wellbeing. This can aid in the early detection of any health concerns before they become serious medical issues.
Flu vaccination: Most health insurance plans cover this completely, and it helps to protect you from particular flu types.
Mammogram: X-rays of the breast tissue on a regular basis to look for any signs of cancer or other abnormalities. Some health insurance may pay the costs of 3D imaging as well.
Colonoscopy: Colon cancer screening.
Vaccinations: Vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, Covid-19, and other diseases are fully covered.
Preventive care benefits
The goal of preventive care is to keep you as healthy as possible. Regular consultations and testing allow your doctor to detect any potential medical issues before they become serious [3,4].
The following are some of the advantages of preventive care:
As part of your health coverage, the majority of preventive care is provided at no cost to you.
Detecting medical issues, illnesses, and diseases early allows your doctor to provide proactive care and treatment.
Routine care can help you stay on track with your own health objectives.
When and which preventive care is needed
Your primary care physician can assist you in determining which tests and injections are appropriate for you. Family history, age, sex, present health status, and other factors may be taken into account [5]. Preventive care is frequently covered in full by your health plan and has numerous financial and health benefits. If you have any doubts regarding what is and is not covered, or when specific tests should be performed, make sure to consult your doctor.
Citation: Ting Z. Preventive Care: Lowering Health Care Cost. Prim Health Care, 2021, 11(8), 399.
Received: 02-Aug-2021 Published: 31-Aug-2021, DOI: 10.35248/2167-1079.21.11.399
Copyright: 2021 Ting Z. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
