Two of the most effective ways to remain healthy are prevention and monitoring. Annual physicals allow physicians to analyze the state of your health and your body in ways that you might not be able to on your own.
At Carolina Concierge Care, one of the ways we care for our patients is by conducting annual physicals, including labwork and an overall examination. Your doctor can assess ongoing or chronic issues and identify any new concerns before they become serious or life-threatening.
However, we understand that many people often forget to schedule their physicals, put them off, or try to avoid them. In this blog, we’ll explain the importance of getting your annual adult physical exam in Sumter County, SC, and how concierge medicine helps make getting a physical easier and comfortable.
Why You Need to Get a Physical
Physicals shouldn’t end after high school. Maintaining your health is ongoing. Below are the major benefits of getting an annual physical as an adult.
Managing Health Conditions
One of the biggest benefits is receiving help managing your chronic or ongoing health condition(s). No matter your condition, our providers can request labs, prescribe medications, and help you create a care plan that addresses all your needs.
If you have a health condition that requires a specialist’s care, your primary physician at Carolina Concierge can talk with them to coordinate your medical plan. Then, they can ensure that the labs, tests, and other necessary screenings are completed, and that information is shared with your specialist.
Early Disease Detection
One of the other reasons you should receive an adult physical exam in Sumter County is that it helps us identify health conditions early. Detecting conditions gives your care team the chance to address it before it can become life-threatening and provide a long-term treatment and prevention plan.
Many patients believe that if there is something wrong, they will feel it. However, there are many medical conditions that develop over time with few to no symptoms. And often, when symptoms do appear, the plan for addressing those health concerns takes more time and money than if you had caught it early.
As some conditions develop, they no longer become curable and, instead, become treatable—meaning it will be something that you have to manage for the rest of your life. Early detection is a key factor in our care as primary care physicians (PCPs).
Preventative Care
We also value prevention and work to provide preventative methods to our clients. During your adult physical exam in Sumter County, your provider can check basic vitals, such as:
- Blood pressure
- Heart rate
- Weight
- Height
- Respiratory rate
- Blood oxygen levels
- Temperature
- Heartbeat
- Lung sounds
If your doctor notices any issues during your physical that aren’t severe but could progress, they will still bring them to your attention. Then, together, you can create a plan to prevent them from becoming more serious. This plan may include lifestyle changes, medications, or even routine monitoring of certain vitals at home.
Lifestyle Guidance
Many Americans face common health concerns that put them at risk of developing chronic medical conditions or diseases. To manage conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight, high heart rate, or high blood sugar, we recommend lifestyle changes.
Your provider can talk with you during your adult physical exam in Sumter County and explain the changes you can make to improve your overall health and wellbeing. These recommendations should address your specific concerns and reduce health risks.
Vaccinations & Screening Updates
Vaccines are a proven and effective method of not only protecting you from serious illnesses but also protecting others from those same illnesses. Your immune system’s job is to attack and destroy new viruses and bacteria that enter your body.
However, the tactics of our body’s defense system to kill foreign bacteria can also lead to symptoms of a cold or fever.
Fever
Your immune system understands that bacteria die at higher temperatures, so it increases your internal temperature, causing a fever.
Body Aches
Your body also releases cytokines and prostaglandins when it detects foreign bacteria. These molecules signal your body to increase white blood cell production to fight the bacteria, causing an inflammatory response.
Runny Nose
Foreign bacteria usually enter your body through the nose or mouth. To trap these bacteria after detecting it, your body increases mucus production. This prevents more of the bacteria from entering your body.
Cough
For the same reason as a runny nose, your body creates additional muscle in the back of your throat to trap bacteria and expel it by coughing.
Sore Throat
If you’re also experiencing a sore throat, this is because your body can detect high amounts of bacteria in your throat and send additional white blood cells to fight them. Increased levels of white blood cells in any area of the body cause an inflammatory response, making it red, swollen, and sore.
Why It’s Important
While these responses are our body’s natural way of fighting viruses and illnesses, sometimes the symptoms become too intense or last too long for our bodies to fight off. In its attempt to eliminate the foreign bacteria, your body can also “eliminate” itself.
When you visit our team for an adult physical exam in Sumter County, SC, we make sure your vaccines are up to date. Vaccines introduce dormant bacteria to your body, so it will develop a natural immunity and protect you from becoming seriously ill from that strain of bacteria or virus.
How Concierge Medicine Improves Your Experience
One of the main reasons that patients avoid scheduling a physical is that they are used to receiving them in a traditional hospital setting. They aren’t too excited by the idea of sitting in a waiting room for 45 minutes to see a doctor who they only see once a year—if that.
In traditional medical settings, patients feel like a number rather than a person, and they’d rather not take time out of their regular schedules to have an impersonal experience.
At Carolina Concierge, our care looks different.
Concierge medicine means shorter wait times, longer appointments, and more thorough, dedicated care. Your doctor learns about you as a person, building a relationship that enriches your care. This way, when you visit your doctor, they are able to cover more than your physical health concerns. They can talk to you about stressors, your mental health, and assess your overall wellbeing. With concierge medicine, you can achieve a higher quality of care than anywhere else.
The Benefits of Carolina Concierge
Our team goes above and beyond the standard level of care, even for a private practice. There are many benefits to visiting us for an adult physical exam in Sumter County or for more extensive care. Some of those benefits include:
Consistent Communication
Have a problem at 3am? We can help. Our doctors may not be in the clinic, but you can still reach them by phone and describe what issues you’re facing. They can tell you whether you should visit the emergency room, or if they can come in early and see you first thing in the morning. No matter what, you have around-the-clock access to a team you can trust.
House Calls
If you have an issue that prevents you from leaving the house, we can have doctors come to you. We can administer vaccines, draw labs, and more within your home. Just because you are limited in movement doesn’t mean you should receive limited care—we’re here to accommodate your needs and ensure you receive the care you deserve.
Providers You Trust
Since you can spend more time with our physicians than with physicians in traditional medical offices, you can build a better relationship with your provider based on trust, dedication, and high-quality care. We have your best interests at heart and understand what concerns to address so you can stay healthy and happy.
Variety of Treatments
We don’t just provide medical care—we also provide wellness and aesthetic treatments to deliver well-rounded service to our patients. If you are healthy but want to improve your overall wellbeing with treatments that relax wrinkles, help you lose weight, control urinary incontinence, or improve muscle tone, then come see us!
Enjoy High-Quality Care
There is no reason for you to compromise your health. With our team at Carolina Concierge, you can easily receive the high-quality care you deserve when you visit us for an adult physical exam in Sumter County, SC.
Request an appointment with one of our doctors online. Or, if you prefer exploring your options before scheduling, you can use our online treatment planning tool. By inputting your individual concerns and answering a few questions about yourself, you can discover your best options for treatment.
