As the world begins to open up and your coronavirus vaccinations have been completed, perhaps you’re plotting a return to the things you’ve missed most: taking in a movie, lunch with good friends, visits with loved ones. And visits to the doctor? While that may not be high on your list of long-lost activities, in reality, seeking out preventive health care as you get older should be at the top of your to-do list. 

There’s no doubt that during the pandemic, many of us skipped essential check-ins with our primary care physicians. Maybe we snuck in for an urgent visit or made a surreptitious trip to a therapist, but likely most of us have fallen behind on the regular check-ins that are recommended to keep older adults healthy and trouble-free. There is much evidence to suggest that Americans delayed or avoided all but emergency care during COVID, and there is concern that a more subtle pandemic is looming, especially for people of color, who are likely to currently have undiagnosed and untreated conditions that could have been prevented or treated, were it not for the pandemic. If the goal of preventive care is to identify and address potential medical concerns before they become acute, then many of us have fallen down- and now is the time to pick ourselves up and head back in for wellness and screening visits. 

So what kind of services, tests, or interventions might you need at this point? Beyond the annual wellness visit that Medicare pays for, there are, for example, a range of additional vaccinations you should have under your belt (or rather, under your sleeve) when you reach a certain age. Vaccinations such as flu, shingles, pneumonia, and Tdap are all recommended, as are screening tests for breast and colorectal cancer. While there is some debate as to whether some screenings are really necessary once you reach a certain age, what’s right for you as an individual will very much depend on your own medical history as well as your family’s, along with your current health and medical concerns. One interesting factor that’s recently come to light addresses cancer screenings. Researchers at Stanford began to wonder why there’s such an uptick in cancer diagnoses among patients who reach age 65. As it turns out, it seems many patients wait for cancer screenings and treatments until their Medicare coverage kicks in, thereby potentially delaying interventions that could promote earlier diagnosis, better treatment outcomes, or even prevent deaths. So delays not only caused by the pandemic but from financial concerns have also proved to be deleterious to patient health and well-being.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has a good summary sheet of the kinds of shots, tests, and screenings you should now discuss with your physician as a way to keep on top of problems before they fester. For a deeper dive into the range of preventive health services that all older adults should consider, there’s no better authority than Dr. Leslie Kernisan at the website Better Health While Aging, who has a comprehensive 26 point checklist to help put you on a path toward good preventive care and healthier aging. Her recommendations break down into 3 categories: screening for problems that have yet to cause symptoms, problems that cause symptoms that are often overlooked, and vaccines or medications that can reduce the risk of future illness. While she believes that not every patient needs every test once they reach a certain age, she recognizes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So as you head out in the world again, make sure one of your stops includes your primary care physician.