The days of the generic annual physical are over. Today, preventive services are customized, taking into account your health status, risk factors, and personal and family health history. This more individualized approach is often built around a periodic health exam. Although you may still be seeing your health care provider for a checkup, you won’t necessarily receive the same tests as everyone else, or even the same tests you had last year. During a routine health exam, in addition to the screening discussed earlier, the following items are checked:
Blood pressure
Height and weight
Immunization status (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend immunizations based on age, occupation, health status, and other factors.)
Health of the oral cavity
Vision and hearing (as appropriate for the your age)
It is your responsibility to schedule these health exams, although your provider will recommend the necessary frequency. You can also keep track of when you should have certain screening tests by signing up for reminders through the following free service.
This article was last reviewed on September 17, 2008.
This article was last modified on April 8, 2009.
The review date indicates when the article was last reviewed from beginning to end to ensure that it reflects the most current science. A review may not require any modifications to the article, so the two dates may not always agree.
The modified date indicates that one or more changes were made to the article. Such changes may or may not result from a full review of the article, so the two dates may not always agree.
