- The leading causes of death and disability in Australia are preventable or able to be delayed by early treatment and intervention. Almost half of all Australian have health conditions that can be prevented with a healthier and more active lifestyle.
- Preventative care can increase your lifespan because it allows you to catch things earlier and treat them more effectively.
- This allows us to ‘future-proof’ ourselves somewhat during our working lives so we can enjoy retirement in good health.
- Early intervention can reduce the need for later, more intensive, invasive and costly care.
- Allows us to be more productive at work and spend more years in the workforce (if we choose to).
Medical
Medical Matters
Our health is an asset. We can ignore it and have it degrade over time, or we can invest in it and build it up so that it supports us to achieve our goals both now and in the future. The key to a long and healthy life is the prevention and early detection of illness, together with the promotion and maintenance of health. Having a GP 'home', attending recommended screening activities, intervening when clinically relevant and maintaining a healthy lifestyle all improve quality and longevity of life.
Benefits of Preventative Health
More Information About Preventative Health
Why have a regular GP?
It is important to have a regular GP or GP ‘home’ whom you see over several years, or even a lifetime. A regular GP allows you to:
- Promote open communication with a GP you feel comfortable with.
- Develop a relationship to build mutual trust, understanding and knowledge.
- Be more sensitive to what is normal for you and better able to recognise sinister changes.
- Have a repository of your medical history, medications prescribed, tests results etc.
- Assist in the optimal management of your health.
- Provide coordination and continuation of care with other allied health providers and/or specialists if required
- Access local knowledge of what services are available in your local area to provide support when you need it.
Why regular health screening activities?
Recommended health screenings have been designed to:
- Detect conditions that have a recognisable hidden or early symptomatic stage.
- Have a test available that is simple, safe, precise and validated.
- Have a known, effective treatment with evidence that early treatment leads to better outcomes.
- Improve mortality, morbidity or quality of life.
Impacts on:
- Medical
- Sleep
- Lifestyle
- Work
- Connections
- Optimism
Strategies to Facilitate Preventative Care
1. Read your health report.
Read the report and personalised recommendations arising from your Ford Health assessment and start working on these.
2. Find a regular GP.
If you do not have a GP who you visit at least annually, it is a good idea to find one. Ask friends and family for recommendations — word of mouth is often the best recommendation! If you do not feel comfortable with the GP, try another until you find someone who you feel you can trust and confide in.
3. Plan regular visits to your GP.
Even if you are not sick. Most of us tend to go to the GP when we are ill rather than for an annual check-in. This allows the GP to review your current health status and make recommendations for improvement.
4. Attend recommended health screenings.
Do you sometimes feel you are too busy to take the bowel cancer or skin cancer screening test that has been recommended? Significant research and population data have demonstrated that these tests save lives, so there is a good return on the investment of your time involved in these activities. Would you miss servicing your car?
Resources
Cancer Council "Early detection and screening: Cancer screening saves lives"
Website Article
