• Preventive care is more important than an annual physical, according to both an Archives of Internal Medicine article and the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
• Preventive care is incorporated into an annual exam only about 20% of the time with the remaining 80% of prevention occurring during other office visits or venues.
• An excellent resource for patients, families, physicians and mid-level providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) is the National Guideline Clearinghouse sponsored by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.guideline.gov/index.aspx)
• Starting this year, Medicare will cover two types of physical exams—one when you are new to Medicare and one yearly thereafter. If you are new to Medicare Part B you are entitled to an exam which will review your health, focus on prevention, and suggest further consultation and/or education if indicated.
  
• After a year on Medicare an individual is entitled to a wellness visit to develop or update a prevention plan.
• Assuming the patient is healthy, this plan can include a one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms, bone mass measurement, cardiovascular screenings including a cholesterol check every five years, colon cancer screening every decade, diabetes screening, diabetes education if appropriate, flu shots, pneumonia shots periodically, glaucoma tests, Hepatitis B inoculations, HIV screening, mammograms, pelvic exams, prostate cancer screening and smoking cessation (up to eight face to face counseling sessions in a year).
• Anyone who already has a health problem or family history of specific diseases needs to focus on these areas of concern with their physician or mid-level provider
• Community health is the aggregate of all of our individual well-being. These two goals, community health and individual well being are congruent and synergistic.
• As we all attack public health problems such as smoking, obesity, heart disease, cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and other common but unnecessary afflictions, we will improve our lives, our community and our nation. Focusing on prevention during the annual physical exam helps to accomplish these noble goals.

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