Preventive Healthcare
The best way to prevent illness and to catch conditions in early stages is to regularly visit your doctor.
Most health insurance plans must fully cover a set preventive care, making life-saving screenings and services free to most patients.
Recommended Check Ups
We recommend regular health check ups of at least the following frequency for each age and gender.
- Infants at 5-7 days, 2 weeks and at 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months of age
- Children ages 3 through 12—yearly
- Adolescents ages 13 through 18—every 2 years
- Women who are sexually active and/or age 19 and older—yearly
- Men ages 10 through 39—every 2 to 3 years
- Men age 40 and older—every 1 to 2 years
Preventive Tests
These tests are recommended on a prescribed basis for all healthy adults to screen for the following diseases. The following screenings are preventive in nature and covered by most insurance plans. Contact your insurance provider for exact coverage information.
Read our preventive health guidelines in English or in Spanish.
| Beginning Age | Screening | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Pap smear screening for cervical cancer | Every 3-5 years |
| 35 | Cholesterol | Every 5 years |
| 40 |
Regular clinical breast exams Mammograms to screen for breast cancer |
Yearly Every 1-2 years |
| 45 |
Fasting blood sugar to screen for diabetes |
Every 3 years |
| 50 |
Basic stool test for colon cancer Cologuard (genetic stool test) for colon cancer Colonoscopy |
Yearly Every 3 years Every 10 years |
| 65 |
Bone densitometry for osteoporosis, women |
Every 2 years, as needed |
Other Adult Tests as Appropriate
| Age (if applicable) | Screening |
|---|---|
| Any | Ultrasensitive C-reactive protein screening, marker of higher risk for heart attack; EKG, stress test for heart disease |
| Born between 1945-1965 | Hepatitis C screening |
| Men ages 55-70 | PSA blood test for prostate cancer |
| Men ages 65-75 with history of smoking | Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening |
| Sexually active individuals | STDs/STIs such as HIV gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, etc. |
Immunizations
| Age | Vaccination |
|---|---|
| All | Influenza (yearly) |
| Those without history of vaccination | Chickenpox (2 doses), MMR (1-2 doses), Meningitis (1-3 doses), Tetanus diphtheria and whooping cough (1 dose) |
| Adults, as needed | Hepatitis A (2 doses), Hepatitis B (3 doses) |
| Up to age 45 | HPV (3 doses over a 24 week period) |
| 50+ | Shingles (2 doses) |
| 65+ | Pneumonia (1 dose) |
