This Summer get your Annual Wellness Exam at Heart of Health Clinics

In the surrounding Chicago area, Dr. Anosh Ahmed is driving community wellness by opening a number of clinics called Heart of Health in various locations around the city. That way more people can take advantage of the benefits of getting their annual wellness exam scheduled, build a good relationship with their healthcare provider, and prevent or catch diseases early on. Heart of Health clinics are there to help bridge the gap between communities that lack healthcare and their healthcare providers.

“Annual wellness check ups are really vital so that primary care providers can help with detecting early onset diseases and prevention,” Dr. Ahmed says. “Preventative is good for promoting wellness and longevity, setting wellness goals, and having discussions with your PCP about your health.” With Heart of Health clinics expanding across Chicago there is now a great opportunity to schedule your annual exam this summer!

If you have health insurance, you’re in luck! You don’t have to pay a cent for your annual visits regardless of your used deductible or health insurance. Because according to Healthcare.gov, health insurance companies must comply with a 2014 law to offer a yearly preventative care and wellness screening annually at no cost. If you don’t have health insurance, Heart of Health clinics are there in the Chicago area for those that need that and may not be able to afford it.

Annual wellness visits are more than just a perfunctory blood pressure and cholesterol check up, there are now new preventive care provisions and screenings for adults depending on the needs and age including depression screening, colorectal cancer screening, obesity screening along with diet counseling, and drug and alcohol misuse screening and counseling.

Women’s preventative health care services have expanded to include well-woman gynecological office visits, breast and cervical cancer screenings, breastfeeding support, and free sterilization procedures and even free contraception for those with prescriptions for contraceptive methods that have been FDA-approved from their health care providers.

“Annual wellness visits build a good relationship with your doctor. When you skip the annual wellness visit and only see your doctor when you’re sick or have some other problem, we have a disadvantage in diagnosing and treating health problems because then we don’t have the full picture of your health history generally provided by yearly visits and screenings,” Dr. Ahmed informs.

 

Your yearly preventative-care visit creates a plan of action for your health. It is a time for you and your doctor to establish your personal health benchmarks and discuss ways to improve your health and prevent illness and disease. After discussing the results of screenings you can create a specific action plan designed to help you stay healthy or to manage and improve chronic conditions. Scheduling your appointment in advance, you are even creating a good accountability to stick to the plan you and your doctor created. This can make it easier to make the changes for a positive benefit or improvement in your condition at your next annual appointment.

“One purpose of the yearly screenings is for your doctor to compare your personal health benchmarks from year to year in order to screen for disease. That way they can catch disease at an early manageable stage,” Dr. Ahmed explains. If you experience any new symptoms, changes, or want counseling on a topic of wellness such as pre-pregnancy, family planning, weight loss, stopping tobacco and/or alcohol use, your primary care provider can provide you with resources for these and more during your yearly check up and screening. This will give you the tools and motivation you need to be a more health-conscious individual.

So what are you waiting for? Schedule an appointment with your primary care provider today!