Investing in your health and wellbeing

The most important investment you can make: investing in your health and wellbeing.

Protecting your assets is a key part of the strategy for building a secure future. You invest a significant amount of your time and money in protecting assets like your home, businesses, and wealth, finding experts to advise you and guide your decisions. It’s an ongoing process that requires you to keep up to date on changes in the economic outlook and other risk factors, as well as changes in your personal situation and your short and long term goals.

But one asset that is frequently overlooked is health and well-being. One survey found that 1 in 4 adults skip regular check-ups because they say they feel healthy. Another survey found that the issue is even more pronounced for women, with nearly half of the respondents saying they skipped a preventive care appointment, vaccine, or test or recommended treatment. People are also skipping or delaying cancer screenings that can help detect cancer at an earlier stage. A survey of people 21 and older found that  nearly 70% of those surveyed said they were not current on one or more routine cancer screenings.

Make protecting your health a top priority

Building a strategy to protect your health and wellbeing, mitigate risk factors, and make sustainable lifestyle changes are essential investments that can help you extend your healthspan (the portion of life spent in good health without serious illness or physical limitations).

The first step is to build an experienced team of healthcare providers and support resources to develop and execute a plan that is tailored to address your medical and family health history, risk factors, and health and wellness goals. Who’s included in that team will vary from person to person, but it should include a primary care provider who serves as your medical home, coordinating care and records. Your PinnacleCare Health Advisor can also play a key role, expediting access to top physicians, coordinating communication and care amongst all the healthcare providers you see, collecting, verifying, and creating a health summary of  your medical records, and providing evidence-based research to help you make informed medical decisions.

Start with a strong preventive care strategy

The recommended preventive care services for adults vary by age and gender. They include:

• Annual or every other year check-up that includes blood pressure, height/weight, BMI, and screening for depression and tobacco and substance use
• Cholesterol and blood sugar screening based on your age, gender, and risk factors
• Cancer screenings (breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate, lung) based on your gender and risk factors
• Sexually transmitted infection and HIV screening
• Hepatitis B (based on risk factors) and hepatitis C screening
• Osteoporosis screening based on gender, age, and risk factors
• Vision screening
• Hearing screening at least every decade through age 50, then every three years

The risk factors that affect when and how often you should receive preventive care screenings include your family and personal health history (for example if a parent or sibling had a heart attack at younger age); lifestyle factors including your weight, whether you exercise, your diet, and your use of alcohol, tobacco, and substances; your genetic risk (for example the breast and ovarian cancer risk for women with the BRCA mutation); and your age and overall health.

The preventive care plan your primary care provider recommends may differ from recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Taskforce, professional medical groups like The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the National Cancer Institute, or organizations like the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association. That’s because the recommendations are based on different criteria.

What your healthcare provider recommends is tailored to your specific risk factors and family and personal health history. Other recommendations are based on population health, which looks at health outcomes for a larger group of people or a community. Some recommendations are based purely on the cost-effectiveness of the screenings.

Be an active partner in your care

While having a team of healthcare experts is important, to achieve the best outcomes it’s equally important that you’re an informed, active partner in making decisions about your care. Start by taking these steps:

• Learn about your condition. Use reliable, evidence-based sources to learn about the condition you’ve been diagnosed with and available treatment options. Your PinnacleCare Health Advisor is a valuable resource. Online, the National Institutes of Health and Medline are good resources. You can also ask your healthcare provider to recommend resources.
• Ask questions. Ask your healthcare providers questions about your diagnosis and their treatment recommendations, including whether any other condition could be the cause of your symptoms, if there are other, effective treatments you can consider, what test results mean, and what your next steps are. If you don’t understand what your provider tells you, ask them to explain in plain English. And if English isn’t your first language, ask them to include a translator at your appointments. Your Health Advisor can work with you to prepare questions before your appointment, and then review the answers after.
• Commit to your care. You’re the only one who can make sure your care plan is followed. Take medications as prescribed, go to all follow up appointments, and complete all recommended diagnostic and screening tests and make sure you review the results with your provider.

Build a wellness strategy that you can maintain for the long term

Lifestyle choices affect your risk of developing a range of health problems and impact your overall wellbeing. Leading a healthier lifestyle can significantly lower your risk of developing a range of chronic health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, back and joint problems, and respiratory problems like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema. Lifestyle choices can also affect your risk of being diagnosed with certain types of cancer.

The building blocks of a wellness strategy include five categories—nutrition, activity, sleep, stress management, and mental wellness. The goal is to build a plan that you can sustain over time, rather than a total lifestyle makeover that will be hard to maintain for the long term. As you achieve goals or your goals or focus change, you should revisit the plan and make any needed changes.

To build and support your wellness plan, it can be helpful to work with professionals such as a nutritionist, personal trainer or physical therapist, sleep medicine specialist, or mental healthcare provider.

Get PinnacleCare’s expert support and guidance

Get connected with your PinnacleCare Health Advisor today! They can connect you with experienced professionals to build your comprehensive medical and wellness team, organize and schedule your appointments, and help to keep you on your best health path.