Clinician Viewpoints on Preventative Health and Routine Health Care and the Need to Expand Awareness Among Patients

At the start of every new year, millions of individuals make resolutions to improve their health, with many individuals aiming to lose weight, eat healthier, and exercise regularly. Unfortunately, many of these goals are often short-lived for various reasons, including busy schedules, not seeing any progress, or lack of motivation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 6 in 10 adults in the US have been diagnosed with a chronic disease; of those individuals, 4 in 10 have 2 or more chronic diseases.¹ Additionally, the CDC notes that the leading causes of mortality and disability are cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, with primary risk factors including tobacco use, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and excessive alcohol use.¹ Unfortunately, the number of individuals diagnosed with chronic diseases continues to soar. In a recent study published in Frontiers in Public Health , the authors revealed that among the patient population of individuals 50 years and older, the number of individuals in this age group with at least one chronic disease is estimated to augment by 99.5% from 71.522 million in 2020 to 142.66 million by 2050 and individuals with multiple morbidities are anticipated to increase 91.16% from 7.8304 million in 2020 to 14.968 million in 2050.² Findings highlight the need to expand awareness about the value of preventative health and routine health care. Another study published in Health Affairs revealed that only 8% of Americans aged 35 years and older received all recommended appropriate clinical preventive services, and 5% of adults did not receive any preventative care services. 3 According to the Healthy People 2030 initiative, examples of barriers to routine preventative care may include costs, lack of access to care, and lack of awareness about recommended preventative healthcare measures.^4,5

Research has also established that routine health care, early diagnosis, clinical intervention, and patient adherence are integral to improving clinical outcomes and decreasing the health and economic burdens associated with chronic diseases.

Viewpoints from Health Care Providers About Preventive Care and Routine Care

Internist stated, “Unfortunately, I often see patients who do not obtain annual physicals and only come to my office when a medical condition starts causing symptoms. For example, I have cared for patients who do not get annual physicals, eat unhealthy foods and are sedentary and are surprised when diagnosed with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or diabetes. I try to encourage my patients to be proactive about their health, so that conditions can be diagnosed early and treated early on. Preventative care is key to health and many patients are delayed and/or not obtaining them.”

Cardiologist stated, “Many individuals do not know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) can be prevented or delayed through various lifestyle measures. I have encountered patients who do not obtain routine preventative care with their primary health care provider and do not adhere to the recommended treatments, especially diet modifications and smoking. I have encountered patients who refuse to take medication as prescribed and then are surprised when hospitalized because of hypertension or heart failure (HF). Management and prevention of CVD warrants patient’s understanding their condition and the significance of adherence to medication and lifestyle measures to improve clinical outcomes."

Retail pharmacist stated, “It is rewarding to see patients who experience improved health because of adherence to the prescribed medication. Patient education and ensuring patients understand their disease and how the medication helps is instrumental. I had a patient who was apprehensive about using an injectable agent for diabetes and I showed the patient how to administer the medicine and the patient gained confidence in the administration of medication which eased fears. Today, the patient has well controlled diabetes, adheres to recommended ADA preventative measures and obtains routine follow-up with endocrinologist.”

Retail pharmacist stated, “Since pharmacists can administer vaccinations, those preventative care services have become more accessible to many patients. There have been many times when a patient comes in to drop off or pick up a prescription and by just engaging patients in conversation, we as pharmacists can assess if patients may need certain vaccinations or we can encourage patients to discuss other preventative measures with their primary healthcare provider. I recently encountered a patient who did not know about the shingles vaccine or the pneumonia vaccine. The patient was a candidate for both vaccines. Expanding awareness about the significance of preventative health is needed.”

Conclusion

Preventative health care is crucial to screening, diagnosing, thwarting, and reducing illness, especially chronic illnesses and related complications. Expanding awareness about routine health care recommending preventative measures based on patient age and health status are needed to lower the incidence of many chronic diseases, and patient education is an essential component, as well as patients taking an active role in their care and working in collaboration with their health care providers. May 2024 be a year dedicated to good health, improving health, and taking steps in the right direction to lower the incidence of chronic diseases.

References

1. Chronic diseases in America. CDC. December 2022. Accessed January 4, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.html
2. Ansah JP, Chiu CT. Projecting the chronic disease burden among the adult population in the United States using a multi-state population model. Front Public Health. 2023; 10:1082183. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1082183
3. Borsky A, Zhan C, Miller T, Ngo-Metzger Q, Bierman AS, Meyers D. Few Americans receive all high-priority, appropriate clinical preventive services. Health Aff (Millwood). 2018;37(6):925-928. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1248
4. Allen, EM, Call, KT, Beebe, TJ, McAlpine, DD, Johnson, PJ. Barriers to care and healthcare utilization among the publicly insured. Med Care. 55(3)207-214. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000000644
5. Preventative care. Health.gov. Accessed January 11, 2024. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/preventive-care#cit4