As you age, you naturally develop higher risks for health problems, as this is a normal part of getting older. Because of this, it is very important for you to visit a doctor each year for a comprehensive health exam. If you are in your 30s and have not yet started doing this each year, now is the perfect time to start, and here are several important things you should understand about a comprehensive health exam.

It is considered a well visit

If you have health insurance, a comprehensive health exam will probably be covered under your plan, as it is considered a well visit. A well visit is an appointment with a doctor to help a person prevent health problems and going to the doctor every year for a well visit is one of the best ways to stay healthy and avoid major health problems in the future.

The steps of the visit change as you age and with your health needs

There are a lot of different things a doctor will do during a comprehensive health exam, but the steps vary depending on a person's age and by health needs and risks. For example, a doctor might not test a 20-year-old for Vitamin D deficiency, but the doctor would test a 40-year-old for this. This is because a 40-year-old has a much higher risk of having this type of deficiency compared to a 20-year-old. Therefore, you should expect the steps during the visit to change as you age and as your health changes.

In most cases, this type of exam will include answering a series of questions and having the doctor check your vitals. It typically also includes completing blood work to find out if everything is alright. As a person ages, it will also include testing for cholesterol.

There are several purposes of these visits

The other important thing to know is that there are several key purposes for comprehensive health exams, which include the following:

• To determine if you need any immunizations
• To find out if you have any obvious health problems
• To determine risks you have for health problems
• To come up with changes you need to make in your lifestyle to become healthier or reduce your risks for health problems
• To answer questions you have about health problems

These are some of the top purposes of well visits with your doctor. If you have not visited a doctor within the last year, now is a good time to call and schedule a comprehensive health exam.