What is Preventative Health Care?

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Posted: Jun 21st, 2021 at 01:13PM - by Ashlee Arnold/Vice President

When people think of health care, they immediately think of going to doctors or medical experts when something is wrong so that they can get the help they need. However, prevention is always better and easier than treatment.

Along with maintaining good eating habits and an active lifestyle, preventive health care also plays a pivotal role in ensuring that you stay healthy overall.

What is Preventive Health Care?

As the name suggests, preventive health care involves detecting and preventing illnesses, injuries, and other medical conditions before they get worse or become life-threatening. Also called routine care, it's any medical service that reduces the risk factors of illnesses and the chances of health emergencies. Routine health care is covered under the Affordable Care Act, as it is known to help in keeping health care costs low.

Ultimately, the goal of preventive health care is to help people remain healthy over the duration of their lives.

Why is Preventive Health Care Important?

As we mentioned before, preventive care aims to keep your overall health at its peak for as long as possible.

In addition, this type of health care helps:

• Detect medical problems early so you can receive the right treatment and ongoing attention as needed.
• Determine if your family history or lifestyle choices could impact your health.
• Focus on and keep you on track with your own health goals.
• Identify medical problems before they become more serious.
• Reduce or eliminate expensive costs for you as they're already part of your health coverage or insurance.

What Services are a Part of Preventive Health Care?

Preventative health care can mean a lot of different things.

Physical Examinations

A physical exam is a series of routine tests conducted by your primary care provider (PCP) to check your overall health. This can be done annually or more frequently, as recommended by your physician.

In this exam, the PCP screens or tracks illnesses, looks for signs of future or current health risks (like high cholesterol or blood pressure), and updates your health records. This is also an opportunity for you to talk about health problems you might have noticed, discuss a healthy lifestyle plan, and learn how to recognize unusual changes in your body.

At e7 Health, all of our physical exams are conducted by Board Certified clinicians who can evaluate you often as soon as the same or the next day. We offer a wide range of physicals – like employment, school, sports, executive well-being, Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard, and pre- and post-deployment examinations. Plus, our exams are customizable to meet your specific needs.

Vaccinations

Vaccines help protect you from potentially devastating diseases. They also strengthen your immune system against illnesses and reduce the risk of infections being widespread.

As a result of vaccinations, many illnesses – such as diphtheria and polio – have almost been wiped out. Thus, this health measure helps protect not just yourself, but also your family, community, and vulnerable individuals who cannot safely get vaccinated. That's why it's vital to keep up-to-date with your vaccinations.

e7 Health's immunization services include all vaccines available in the country (except the COVID-19 vaccine), such as cholera, hepatitis A/B, influenza, MMR, and rabies. We also offer vaccines that come in a series that may be necessary for travel and specific itineraries, students and employees, as well as for immigration.

Tuberculosis (TB) Screening

TB is a serious disease that can harm your lungs and respiratory system. Individuals with active TB bacteria can pass the illness to others when they cough or sneeze. For others with a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), they may not experience any obvious symptoms, so they won't know that they have the bacteria unless they get tested.

If left untreated, TB can lead to more serious conditions (like HIV) and can weaken your immune system. As such, it's crucial to talk to your doctor or to get tested if you think you're at risk.

At e7 Health, we offer a TB skin test to determine if you have developed an immune response to the TB bacteria. This occurs if you currently have or have been exposed to TB in the past, or if you’ve received the BGC vaccine.

Quantiferon TB Gold Plus is another type of TB test used to identify if there has been exposure to the tuberculosis bacterium. One of the benefits of this type of TB test is that the results are not affected by the BCG vaccine, used in other countries, which can sometimes be the case with TB skin testing.

Regardless of your TB test preference, our team of medical experts will walk you through the entire test process and make recommendations if further testing is necessary.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Testing

Individuals who are sexually active are at risk of having STDs. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, many people who have an STD are unaware that they have acquired it. Whether it's from their sexual history, unprotected sex, or the use of drugs with needles, STDs can be prevented if acted upon early on.

If you and your partner are looking to get tested, e7 Health provides convenient and discreet STD testing that provides fast and reliable results. We offer a full consultation with our clinicians if you have questions before or after testing. We also offer individual testing options or a full panel, depending on your needs. More importantly, we offer the corresponding medication and treatment as needed.

In most cases and where applicable, preventive health care is better than treatment and maintenance. It helps identify diseases before they become more detrimental and provides early solutions to reduce the risks. Plus, it encourages you to focus on your long-term health goals.

If you're not sure what kind of preventive health care you need, your PCP can help you figure out the best next steps.

e7 Health is a preventive health and wellness center that caters to all your preventative health-related needs. Contact us today to learn more.

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