Musings: Do your homework before seeing the doctor
Before getting a checkup, it's a good idea to do one's homework. Credit: Getty Images/Klaus Vedfelt
As with many of life’s problems, preventing them is a good idea.
Preventive medicine has come a very long way. The average U.S. life expectancy went from age 47 in 1900 to age 77 by the year 2000 — a difference of 30 years!
With those improvements come some extra work for you to do with your doctors. Screening tests, vaccines and losing bad habits have helped fuel longer life expectancy and improved quality of life.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has studied which interventions are most likely to help you live longer and better. Each intervention is given a grade of A, B, C or D. Grade A recommendations are the best; everyone within this recommendation stands to gain by getting it done. Blood pressure checks and vaccines, along with certain blood tests and cancer screenings, for example, are Grade A.
Luckily, unbiased ways to see what you and your doctor should consider are easy to find with the MyHealthfinder tool online.
A cellphone app called Prevention TaskForce, from the Department of Health and Human Services, is made for doctors, but anybody can use it. It can help you decide what interventions give you the most bang for the buck and which ones may be best to skip.
Before you see a doctor, it is helpful to know what diseases might run in your family, especially if you have family members who got sick at a young age. A good percentage of the information doctors use comes from what you tell them.
Before you see a doctor for a checkup — a chance to talk to your doctor about problems you’re experiencing — write things down so that you can remember each symptom.
After your visit, check with your insurance company to see if suggested tests are covered.
Regular visits to the dentist help prevent serious diseases. It is good prevention.
Don’t be afraid to get help in changing unhealthy habits. Your doctor or other health care professional can help address habits such as an improper diet and inactivity.
— Dr. Douglas A. Ballan, Oakdale
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