Why is routine health testing important? You feel great. You’re busy with work, family, and friends. So, scheduling a doctor’s appointment when you’re not sick or due for a vaccine may seem unnecessary. But routine health screenings play a critical role in your preventive health care.
They can give you and your healthcare providers a better picture of your overall health, identify any potential health risks you might have, and potentially catch any problems early on.
Think of your car. You wouldn’t drive it for years without getting the oil changed, tires rotated, or fluids topped off and expect it to continue running in tip-top shape, right? Your health is no different.
Taking your car into the shop for regular maintenance can prevent a costly and unexpected trip to the mechanic. The same logic applies: getting routine checkups can help prevent serious health issues down the road. Early diagnosis is essential for many health conditions because it increases the chances of successful treatment.
Table of Contents:
- Understanding Routine Health Testing
- What to Expect
- How Often Should You Schedule Screenings?
- Preventative Screenings and Missed Opportunities
- Conclusion
What is Routine Health Testing?
A routine screening test refers to medical tests or procedures performed on seemingly healthy individuals. These tests aim to find diseases or conditions before they cause symptoms.
The goal is to find and treat these conditions early, hopefully leading to better outcomes.
What to Expect
First, your doctor will likely review your medical history. Then, they'll ask you about your family’s medical history, including any chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.
Make sure to tell them about any new symptoms you are experiencing, and if you feel anxious or overly stressed, bring that up too. Studies have found that, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 8 in 10 adults reported the pandemic was a significant source of stress for them.
Chronic stress, if not addressed, can manifest in many ways, including sleep problems, high blood pressure, digestive issues, and more. During a routine checkup, the doctor may also:
- Check your weight and body mass index (BMI).
- Check your blood pressure and pulse.
- Order blood work (to check cholesterol, glucose, and other markers).
- Perform a physical exam (listening to your heart and lungs and feeling for abnormalities in the abdomen).
Your doctor will also let you know if you are due for any vaccines or cancer screenings. These cancer screening tests may include a Pap smear (to detect early signs of cervical cancer in women), a mammogram (to screen for breast cancer in women), a prostate cancer screening for men, or a colonoscopy (to screen for colon cancer in men and women).
Depending on your age and gender, other tests, like a chest CT scan (recommended for adults with a significant smoking history), might be recommended. They’ll also factor in other risk factors and your family medical history when determining what preventative health screenings they think you would benefit from.
For example, anyone 45 years or older (or 30 and older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) should talk with their doctor about having regular heart health checks .
Age and Gender Specific Screenings
Although many of the same screening tests are given to men and women, some routine checkups are gender-specific. Let’s take a look at a few.
| Screening | Description | When It's Typically Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Pap smear | This test checks for cervical cancer in women. It looks for changes in the cells of the cervix, which a doctor can easily collect with a swab during a routine pelvic exam. A study conducted by the CDC determined that new guidelines could be implemented to ensure safer Pap smears. It stated that women could stop having them at 65 years of age after consistently receiving them at appropriate intervals before 65, provided they have no history of precancerous cervical cells or cervical cancer. | Women ages 21-65, every 3 years (or more often for women with risk factors such as a history of abnormal Pap smears or a weakened immune system). |
| HPV test (Human Papillomavirus) | This test is done alongside a Pap smear in women. It can detect the presence of high-risk HPV strains that can lead to cervical cancer. If a doctor detects abnormal cervical cells or HPV in the lab results, additional tests can help determine the best treatment. Although most sexually active men and women contract some strain of HPV in their lifetime, there is now a vaccine readily available that the CDC now recommends, for all adults up to the age of 26, known as a catch-up vaccination. | Women ages 30-65, usually every 5 years in conjunction with a Pap smear (also done earlier if abnormal cells were detected during a previous pap smear). |
| Mammogram | This exam checks for breast cancer in women. A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast that can detect lumps or masses. The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin getting regular mammograms at 40 and continue receiving them yearly. Early detection is critical for breast cancer survival. Almost 100% of women who find out they have it in its earliest stages go on to survive the disease. The 5-year relative survival rate for women with stage 0 or localized breast cancer is close to 100%. But that percentage plummets to 28% for women whose cancer has spread to distant areas of their bodies, according to the American Cancer Society. | Women ages 40 and up (talk with your doctor if you have any risk factors that warrant earlier screenings). |
| Prostate cancer screening | This screening checks for prostate cancer in men. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in American men. Although a lower risk of prostate cancer exists with routine screenings, about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in his life. Most of these men are diagnosed after 65, while only 1 in 10 are diagnosed before 55. This screening may involve a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, along with a digital rectal exam, to feel for irregularities. If your screening shows abnormalities, your healthcare providers will recommend more tests. | Men 50 years and up (talk with your doctor if you have a family history or other risk factors such as African ancestry to determine if earlier testing may be needed). |
Why Should I Get Screenings if I'm Healthy?
The goal of preventive medicine, including routine screenings, is to help you live a longer, healthier life. One major advantage of routine screenings is the early detection of diseases, often before they cause symptoms or become more difficult to treat.
A great example of this is that a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has determined there’s no evidence that routine medical checkups help adults live longer. However, researchers determined they provide other benefits for at-risk groups and should continue.
So even if your screening finds an issue, taking steps early, with guidance from your care providers, gives you a greater chance of preventing serious illness and achieving a more positive outcome. This could involve making healthy lifestyle changes, starting medications as needed, or going back for regular checkups, depending on the results of your initial screenings. Why is routine health testing important? It gives you powerful insight into your current health and any future medical needs.
How Often Should You Schedule Screenings?
How often you need certain tests and screenings varies based on your age, gender, family medical history, current health, and risk factors, such as smoking. Many people assume that routine screenings only entail a yearly trip to their doctor for a physical. This simply isn’t true because healthcare needs change throughout life.
While an annual wellness exam might suffice for healthy adults in their 20s and 30s, most adults see their doctors every 3 years. Older individuals (65+), especially those with existing health conditions, will benefit from seeing their doctors, specialists, and care providers more regularly. Talk to your primary care provider to discuss your current health conditions, medications (if any), any concerns or questions you may have, and your family’s medical history to determine how frequently you would benefit from screenings.
Why is routine health testing important? Because the preventative care associated with them, such as medication or lifestyle changes, becomes much less effective if your medical care team remains uninformed of significant changes in your overall health.
Keep in mind, it may also be a good idea to schedule routine check-ups with your healthcare providers more frequently if you experience new, concerning, or persistent symptoms that fall outside the norm for you.
Preventive Screenings and Missed Opportunities
Preventive screenings don’t get as much attention as they should in our current reactive healthcare system. But these visits are essential to keeping our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.
Here’s why: roughly 40% of deaths each year are due to conditions that healthcare professionals agree can be successfully prevented or treated if caught early enough. And missed screening tests are a leading cause of thousands of avoidable deaths in the US each year.
Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the significance of preventive health care or don’t receive routine screenings as often as they should. This contributes to later diagnoses and often requires more costly treatment methods.
Early detection is key because 1.7 million people die each year from health issues related to treatable conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, and even cancer. With skyrocketing healthcare costs across the country, preventative screenings save time, money, and stress, and they may even save your life. But it’s equally as important to communicate honestly with your doctors during these appointments and discuss your mental health because ignoring this essential aspect of your well being can result in missing early warning signs of more severe conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease .
Conclusion
Why is routine health testing important? While finding time for routine health checks is often the last thing on our to-do lists, scheduling these preventative screenings for you and your loved ones can have a significant impact on your longevity.
Not only do early diagnoses usually involve less invasive (and less costly) treatments and better chances of positive outcomes, they help reduce the strain on our nation’s already overwhelmed healthcare system and give you greater peace of mind knowing your current health status.