The aphorism “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” may have been coined centuries ago, but it still holds true—all the more so—today.
To gain a better insight into the importance of preventative healthcare, read further to learn about its specific purposes and benefits.
Purposes
The objective of preventative care is simple: it is geared toward protecting, promoting, and maintaining a person’s health and overall well-being so as to prevent disease, disability, and mortality. This goal is achieved through the following:
o Reducing Exposure Risks Through Promoting Behavior Change
To prevent the onset of any chronic disease, your preventative care doctor will work with you to reduce your risks. For example, if you have strong risk factors for like heart disease, your doctor will teach you strategies and make lifestyle recommendations to minimize your likelihood of developing it.
Another good way to reduce exposure risks is vaccination. Your preventative care doctor will make sure that you are up to date with all your shots to reduce your risk of acquiring acute and chronic health conditions. Depending on the type, vaccines provide protection from potentially life-threatening diseases, such as HPV, measles, smallpox, pneumonia, among others.
o Early Detection and Treatment
Another essential purpose of preventative care is to diagnose and treat diseases in their earliest stages—when they’re highly treatable. Not only will it help you stay healthy; it will also help you save money.
o Mitigating the Impact of Disease
If you already have an existing medical condition, preventative care helps reduce your risk of health complications by delaying the progression of the disease or even totally reversing it.
For instance, if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, your doctor will help you slow down its progression and reduce your risk of sustaining fractures. Apart from the standard pharmacological interventions, your doctor can give recommendations for home modification to lower your risk of injuries, which render you highly susceptible to fractures.
Benefits of Preventative Healthcare
Preventative care through routine wellness checkups is central to maintaining your overall health.
During your checkup, your doctor will:
- monitor your blood pressure;
- check your blood sugar level;
- order lab tests.
To point out, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that cardiovascular diseases and diabetes reduce life expectancy by 15 years. Preventative care can help you lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, as well as other chronic conditions, consequently enabling you to maintain your quality of life and improve your longevity.
