Preventive Medicine Specialist

What is preventive medicine?

Preventive medicine includes all the tests, screenings and evaluations that help doctors prevent diseases from occurring. While disease treatment is reactive – reacting to a disease that's already present – preventive care is proactive, and focused on preventing diseases from occurring. Preventive care:

• looks for initial signs of acute and chronic diseases and disorders

• evaluates each patient's risk factors based on personal and family medical histories and in-depth physical exams

• identifies underlying risk factors that can make a patient more likely to develop certain types of diseases

• develops a plan of care that includes changes in lifestyle and other habits that could be increasing the patient's risk of developing serious diseases

How can I tell which types of health screenings I should have?

With so many tests and screenings available, deciding which ones are right for your needs can be difficult. Some of the tests and screenings that are right for you can be determined by your personal and family health history, your age, and other factors. Others can be determined from the results of your physical exam, which may uncover other risk factors for specific diseases. Dr. Aziz will take all your health information into account to recommend the screenings that are appropriate for your overall health and well-being.

How often should I see Dr. Aziz for preventive care?

The best way to make sure diseases are prevented or identified in their earliest stages is to have a physical every year. Your annual physical plays a critical role in preventive care, not just because it looks for risk factors and signs of disease during the exam, but because when you see the doctor every year, you have an ongoing health record that makes it easier to spot changes that could indicate an increased risk for disease.