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Summary
Regular checkups with your health care provider are different from appointments for sickness or injury. These checkups include physical exams as well as preventive care. Preventative care may include:
- Screening tests, which are medical tests to check for diseases early, when they may be easier to treat. Which screenings you need will depend on your:
- Age
- Sex
- Overall health
- Family health history
- Risks for certain diseases
- Vaccines, which can improve your health by preventing diseases and other health problems.
- Education and counseling to help you make informed health decisions. This could include advice about your lifestyle, including your diet, how much exercise you get, and any alcohol, tobacco, or other substances you may be using.
To make the most of your next check-up, here are some things to do before you go:
- Review your family health history
- Find out if you are due for any general screenings or vaccines
- Make and bring a list of issues and questions you would like to talk about with your provider
- Make and bring a list of any medicines, vitamins, supplements that you take
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- Adult Immunization Schedule by Age (Addendum Updated June 27, 2024) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- How to Understand Your Lab Results (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Talking With Your Doctor: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Pulse Oximetry (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Health Check Tools
- QuestionBuilder App (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) Also in Spanish
Test Your Knowledge
- Screening Tests for Men Quiz (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Health checkup practice and its associated factors among adults in South...
- Article: Medical examinations of professional and amateur athletes at a sports medicine...
- Article: An online training and feedback module enhances the musculoskeletal examination performance...
- Health Checkup -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
- HRSA: Find a Health Center (Health Resources and Services Administration)
- KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation)
Children
- Baby Health Checkup: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Your Child's Checkups (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Medical Care and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Women
- Women's Health Checkup: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Older Adults
- Preventive Visit and Yearly Wellness Exams (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Health screenings for men age 65 and older (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Health screenings for men ages 18 to 39 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Health screenings for men ages 40 to 64 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Physical exam frequency (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Well-child visits (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish