Your annual health exam is a time for you, as a patient, and your physician to have an open dialogue about a variety of subjects that tend to get pushed to the background during sick or chronic medical condition visits. It gives us the opportunity to review past history, wellness recommendations, and problems that just don’t seem to fit in during other visits.
Whenever I have a patient in for an annual health exam, I like to take the time to update family history and their own personal history, document other physicians they have seen since our last visit, and take account of all of their immunizations with approximate dates. It is also a good time to discuss with my patients how they are doing around the home—making sure they can complete activities of daily living to maintain their independence.
We encourage our patients to be prepared to ask questions and come with information during these visits. This is our time together and the information you share will strengthen our knowledge base of you as a person and patient and allow us to provide the best quality care for your well being.
Phil Branshaw, M.D.
