Routine Annual & Follow-up Exam Services: What Are They?
Carefree Internal Medicine PC
The Social Security Act explicitly excludes from Medicare coverage any routine exams or physicals, and, any medical services detached from medical necessity. While federal and private plans do provide some specific preventative exam services (examples: private plans often offer an “annual preventative physical” with limited blood panels and diagnostic services; Medicare offers an “annual wellness visit” that lacks blood work or any diagnostic examinations; neither of these exams incorporate ongoing healthcare supportive communications and follow-up exams to help patients toward health goals all year).
Plan-reimbursed preventative exam services are limited both in scope and time and lack ongoing communication support services.
By contrast, our annual and ongoing routine exams/physicals are framed as entirely outside of and substantially in excess of plan coverages. These routine exams, when combined with ongoing care communication services directly attached to achieving routine exam health goals, create a completely different and far more expansive care experience.
What to Expect During Annual/Routine Exam Services:
- Checking all vital signs and reviewing medical, family, and social history with trained staff, subsequently confirmed with the physician
- Reviewing medications - Dr. Mohan encourages patients to bring all their medicine and supplement bottles to all appointments
- Doing a review of all health/body systems
- A complete physical exam, including pelvic, breast, and prostate exam (if indicated)
- Diagnostic testing: lab results discussed in detail with an action plan, EKG, bone density test (when indicated), and body composition with standard DEXA machine (when indicated)
Follow-Up Exams/Communications—Much Much More Than “Eat Well & Exercise Often….”
After the routine exam, Dr. Mohan will discuss if any medical condition requires further management including (but not limited to) additional labs or imaging, or referral to a specialist.
Patients may also be advised to make diet/exercise changes, take some supplements or prescriptions, follow a weight loss plan, address hormone therapy, or continue with healthy lifestyle habits. If further testing necessitates another visit, this can be done virtually as well.
Patients receive their visit notes in their portal and may request a print out as well.
Any forms to be filled for work, sports or school physicals, handicap forms, assisted or independent living forms, DME forms, etc. can be signed by the physician. Some assisted and independent living places require a physician visit with a basic exam within a certain limited time window, so the physician has to see you.
