This moment, brought to you by preventive care

Imagine the kind of day when you have the energy and focus to do your work, spend time with family and friends, keep up with your routines, and enjoy the things that matter most to you.

Preventive care helps protect moments like these. By design, preventive care is meant to identify potential health concerns early — when they’re often easier to manage and less likely to disrupt your life. Preventive care includes annual checkups, age-appropriate screenings, routine blood work and recommended vaccines that help you stay on top of your health.

While many screenings can help detect conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers early, not every health condition has a routine screening test. That’s why regular preventive visits are so important. They help establish your personal health baseline — what’s normal for you — making it easier for your provider to recognize changes that may warrant attention.

Why prioritize prevention?

Even if you feel healthy today, preventive care plays an important role in your long-term wellbeing. Across the UC population, some health conditions and cancers are being diagnosed at younger ages than in the past, making regular screenings and healthy lifestyle habits more important than ever.

Preventive care also reinforces healthy habits that support overall health and well-being, including staying active, eating nutritious foods, avoiding tobacco and following recommended care guidelines.

WATCH this short video for an overview of recommended screenings based on age.

Your primary care provider is your partner in health

Think of your primary care provider (PCP) as a trusted partner who understands your health history, helps establish your baseline and works with you to stay ahead of potential issues. An ongoing relationship with a PCP can support more personalized care and may help reduce stress, worry and disruptions to your daily life.

PCPs include:

• Family medicine and internal medicine physicians
• Pediatricians
• OB-GYNs
• Geriatricians
• Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs)

Preventive care vs. diagnostic care

It’s helpful to understand the difference:

Preventive care is intended to help prevent illness or identify health concerns early, before symptoms develop. These services are typically covered by your health plan at no cost to you.

Diagnostic care is used when you have symptoms or a provider needs to investigate a specific health concern. The same tests may be used for preventive care, but when done for diagnosis — like a mammogram for a breast lump or a colonoscopy for abdominal pain — they’re considered diagnostic and are covered according to your plan’s benefits. This means you may need to meet your plan’s deductible and pay a copay or coinsurance.

Small steps can make a big difference

The everyday choices you make can have a lasting impact on your future health. Staying up to date on recommended screenings, following treatment plans, taking medications as prescribed and using virtual care options when appropriate can all help support your health and independence over time.

Make the appointment

It’s easy to put off preventive care. Life gets busy. You may feel fine. Or maybe you’re hesitant about what a screening might uncover.

But making time for preventive care today can help protect your health, routines and peace of mind tomorrow. If it’s been a year or more since your last preventive care or wellness visit, consider scheduling an appointment. Think of it as a gift to your future self.