Topic of the Month

What is a Wellness Visit?

A “Well Adult Visit”, “Preventative Care Visit”, or “Wellness Visit” are all terms to describe the same type of visit.  We prefer to use these terms over the outdated and sometimes misused term “Physical”, since we actually do some kind of physical examination on every patient we see.  Some patients also mistakenly schedule “a Physical”, when what they really want to do is review a lot of different problems or concerns they are having.  This is really the OPPOSITE of what the Wellness visit is intended for.  We like to meet and exceed our patients expectations, so clear communication is important up-front.

WELLNESS really describes what we hope to do at these visits, which is to take time when you are not having any real problems and focus on ways we can keep you well.  These visits are where we take the time to focus on health screenings and risk factors for diseases.  Your provider will talk to you, examine you, and take the time to review your medical records for risk factors for heart disease, colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, etc.  He or she will order the appropriate tests, like cholesterol panels or colon cancer screenings, and vaccines that may be due.  Our goal is to dedicate this time and thoroughly review what you need to keep you well for many years to come.

Most of the work during this visit will be done before the doctor walks into the exam room.  Studies show that your doctor will spend twice as much time thoroughly reviewing your chart as he will talking to you and examining you during this type of visit.  In addition, there is a lot of information to review with you in person.

We also ask that during these “Wellness Visits” that you help us focus on the preventative questions and recommendations that your provider will be discussing with you.  If you have many active concerns or questions, you will need to schedule a separate visit to address those problems.  This will ensure that we have time to appropriately address those concerns, and keep us from getting distracted from our list of preventative services we need to review with you.