你的成年人“回到学校”医疗保健清单
Have you pushed regular checkups to the backburner during the pandemic? Here’s a plan to get back on track with your health.
如果你去过putting off your regular healthcare appointments due to the pandemic, you’re not alone. And while the pandemic is in no way over (we’re glaring at you, Delta variant), it’s important to keep on top of other health maintenance to make sure you stay as well as possible—especially if you have a chronic condition.
“People have been staying home[在大流行期间],真是太好了,我们继续afe, but don’t stay away from medical care,” says Jennifer Phillips, M.D., professor and associate chair of family medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, NM. “In our healthcare system, not only has COVID increased, but other diseases have also gotten out of control because people have stopped care.” And this is a nationwide trend—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), four in 10 adults delayed or avoided medical care during the pandemic. And the consequences of that delayed care are serious. For example, a study inThe Journal of the American College of Cardiology据报道，大流行期间心脏病相关死亡人数增加。
That’s why it’s time to get back on top of important checkups and medical treatments, she says.
值得庆幸的是，与您的医疗保健提供者联系，它比以往任何时候都更容易。“Covid-19大流行的一个银衬里是它确实导致了最多[医疗保健系统]offering of virtual care options for patients, so you can schedule video or virtual visits,” says John B. Anderson, Jr., M.D., assistant professor of family medicine and community health at Duke University in Durham, NC. And while not all healthcare needs can be managed virtually, it’s a good place to start and can help minimize your in-person risks. For other must-do items (more on that below), you can usually safely make the trek to your doctor’s office—by this point in the pandemic, most healthcare offices have streamlined their safety protocols to help protect patients, says Dr. Anderson.
So if you’ve lapsed on your healthcare maintenance and want to get back on track, here’s what to tackle first. Think of this as your adult “back-to-school” health checklist.
Get Your COVID-19 Vaccine (and Any Other Shots You Need)
If you’re making a list of healthcare to-dos to tackle, this one should be at the very top. “The first thing is to get the COVID vaccine if you are a person who can get it,” says Dr. Phillips. It’s true—COVID-19 is definitely not over, and getting the jab can help protect your overall health as well as the health of those in your community.
Not sure where to go? Search for locations offering the vaccine near you at疫苗，或询问您的常规医疗保健提供者。
一旦你完成了，它也值得检查你是否习惯任何其他疫苗。“我们为流感季节做好准备，因此流感镜头很重要，肺炎和肺炎都是如此带瓦疫苗for those who need them,” says Dr. Anderson.
Get Your Annual Checkup
那是什么？您的血压读数在您的最后一次检查中完全良好吗？好吧，我们讨厌将它折给你，但这是2019年 - 大流行袭击前。这是一个卓越的一年和一半从家里工作，增加外卖，生活在沙发上可以为你的血压，体重和胆固醇做。这就是为什么看到您的年度检查的主要护理提供商应该是您列表中的第一件事。您的文档可以让您知道这些数字立即站在哪里 - 以及您需要的内容。
“We know that having a primary care provider can really help[减少]the cost of healthcare downstream,” says Dr. Phillips. That means that seeing a provider regularly—whether a family medicine doctor or even a nurse practitioner—for preventive care and regular checkups can help you stay on track with your health and avoid more serious health problems down the line, according to the National Institutes of Health.
If you are going back to a primary healthcare provider you’ve seen before, they likely can let you know at your annual wellness checkup if you’re overdue for any specific tests, checkups, or other maintenance.
“Having a physical exam every year as an adult is not a bad way to go,” says Dr. Phillips. In this exam, your doctor can check your vital signs, your blood pressure, and request labs to check things like your cholesterol, screen for diabetes, and more, she says. It’s also a great opportunity to check on things you’ve been brushing off over the lasty year-plus, like that funky mole on your back that you’re worried could become cancerous. This yearly checkup can help you detect problems early and get them under control before they become more serious, such as issues like high blood pressure or cholesterol that can lead to heart disease.
筛选
Once you reconnect with a primary care provider, start scheduling those overdue screenings and tests for things like breast and colon cancer. What you need and when will vary based on your gender, age, and health history. “Most healthcare systems have now have electronic healthcare records[or patient portals]where there will be alerts and ways of checking whether you are due for certain health maintenance interventions, such as whether you need a mammogram or colonoscopy,” says Dr. Anderson.
另一个伟大的选择，菲利普斯博士补充说，是使用方便来自美国预防性服务的免费应用程序to look up the latest recommendations for health services you may need. “You can plug in your age and gender and find out if you should have a mammogram, if you should have a pap test, or other tests, for example,” she says.
Common regular screenings to ask your doctor about include the following, per the American Cancer Society:
乳腺癌筛查：乳房X线照片通常在年龄为45岁开始完成，尽管这可能会有所不同您的个人风险. “How often[you are screened]应该是您和您的提供商之间的共同决定，“菲利普斯博士说。
Cervical cancer screening:Screening for cervical cancer should begin at age 21, using either a test for human papillomavirus (HPV, a virus that can sometimes lead to cervical cancer) or a Pap test. Usually, screening is done every three to five years.
结肠直肠癌筛选：Those at average risk of colorectal cancer should begin getting regular screening at age 45. Screening can include a stool test, a blood test, or a colonoscopy. Talk to your doctor about how often you should be screened.
前列腺癌：从50岁开始，男人应该讨论他们是否应该接受prostate cancer testing和他们的医生。筛选可以用血液测试完成。也就是说，一些专家建议菲利普斯博士表示，由于没有经过验证的福利，建议。“如果你有一个有意义的东西或者你所关注的东西，你可能会被筛选，但不是每个人都需要进行这些测试。”
肺癌筛选：建议使用低剂量计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描进行高风险肺癌风险的某些人。
Screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other infections:STI screening—such as tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and syphilis—is recommended for anyone who has been sexually active, young or old, says Dr. Phillips. Most STI tests should be done yearly for the average adult—but talk to your doc about what they recommend for you specifically. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force also recommends you get screened at least once in your life for hepatitis C.
请记住：您获得的筛选以及频率如何根据您的个人健康和环境而变化。与您的医生一起工作，并在一起进行明智的决定您的筛选时间表。
倾向于你的眼睛和牙齿
安德森博士说，大流行于大流行开始期间的第一件事之一是牙科和眼睛健康的非紧急体验。事实上，一项研究JDR临床和翻译研究found that nearly half of adults surveyed delayed going to the dentist or getting dental care during the pandemic. “I feel confident that most places have put appropriate safety protocols in place so that it’s OK for patients to keep those appointments with their dentist and eye provider now to make sure they are getting those done.”
一般来说，菲尔普斯博士说，一般来说，每年都会每年（特别是如果你戴眼镜或接触者）和你的牙医，每六个月都会看到你的牙医。
These are especially important appointments for people with certain chronic diseases due to the potential impact of those illnesses on other systems of the body, she adds. “For example, people with diabetes may need to see an eye doctor more frequently.”
Don’t Forget About Mental Health
Your primary care doctor should screen you yearly for depression—but if not, make sure to reach out for support if you need it. “COVID has certainly been a very stressful time, so if you are having mental health concerns, checking in with your primary care provider is a good place to start,” says Dr. Anderson. “They can get you connected with appropriate resources.” Those resources may include a therapist, psychiatrist, or other behavioral health supports.
“Certainly, if you have behavioral health conditions, you absolutely want to keep up with your regular mental health care providers,” he adds. “Most mental health providers are doing a lot of their visits virtually, which makes it easier for patients to stay connected.”
The Bottom Line
赶上逾期医疗保健任务可能会压倒，所以首先以高于最高的需要。如果你正在努力弄清楚那些是什么，那些用初级保健提供者重新连接并与他们合作以优先考虑您的逾期医疗保健需求是一个优秀的开始。
“你的医生办公室是开放的，我们希望看到你，无论是亲自还是几乎，”敦促菲利普斯博士。“不要避开护理 - 跟上药物并与需要检查的事情检查，这是非常重要的。”
U.S. Adults Delayed or Avoided Medical Care During Pandemic:疾病预防与控制中心。(2020.) “Delay or Avoidance of Medical Care Because of COVID-19–Related Concerns — United States, June 2020.”https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6936a4.htm
大流行期间心脏病死亡的增加：Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (2021.) “Cardiovascular Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.”https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.10.055
Cancer Screening Guidelines:美国癌症协会。（2021.）“美国癌症学会早期发现癌症的指导方针。”https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/american-cancer-society-guidelines-for-the-early-detection-of-cancer.html
丙型肝炎测试：疾病预防与控制中心。（2020.）“测试丙型肝炎病毒感染的建议。”https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/guidelinesc.htm.
年考试频率：国家健康研究院。（2020.）“体检频率”。https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002125.htm
大流行期间延迟牙科护理：JDR临床和翻译研究. (2021.) “Characteristics of US Adults Delaying Dental Care Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32985322/
