Don’t let COVID-19 impact your long-term health; keep up with wellness appointments

It’s been nearly a year since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, and while we have hope with the availability of vaccinations, we know things will not be back to normal for a while. Even so, it is still important to keep up with wellness checks and annual screenings to identify any possible health issues before they become too serious. Wellness exams are considered preventive care and are often provided as a low-cost, or no-cost, service for insurance recipients, including Medicare and many commercial plans.

This pandemic has shown us all just how important it is to make sure we are doing all that we can to stay healthy. That begins with establishing a relationship with a primary care physician. A primary care provider can help you stay on top of your overall health, especially during times like the current pandemic. Annual screenings are important to help you keep your overall health on track and detect any issues before they develop into a bigger problem. We’ve been using telehealth services to serve some patients virtually and limit the number of people in our waiting rooms.

But there are some services that call for an in-person visit to your health care provider, such as your annual flu shot, blood tests and other screenings, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Tens of millions of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, which can put you at risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, 93 million U.S. adults have high cholesterol levels, which also raises the risk for heart disease and stroke. Getting tested for these conditions annually is very important in helping ensure you are staying safe and healthy.

We recognize there may be some hesitancy due to fears of exposure to the coronavirus and we have taken steps to alleviate concerns. Early on in the pandemic, we established more stringent protocols to keep our staff and patients safe, and we continue to operate under those safety standards. Health care facilities continue to take measures to help protect patients from COVID-19, including screening health care workers daily and requiring temperature checks, and ensuring that patients are social distancing while visiting the facilities.

Staying on top of your annual wellness checks can also save money long-term. The cost of an emergency surgery or hospital visit is much higher than an annual wellness exam, so delaying these important appointments is putting you at higher risk for a larger expense down the road.

Don’t let this current pandemic impact your long-term health. While we encourage you to continue to take precautions recommended by the CDC, we also want to make sure that you are getting the help you need for other health conditions, and as quickly as possible. Call your primary care physician today to schedule a wellness check.

Viren Bavishi is the president of the CHI Saint Joseph Medical Group.