Going to the doctor can save you money. No really, it can… if you’re smart about it. Most people don’t think about going to the doctor until they are already feeling sick. But when you think about using your doctor to stay healthy so you don’t get sick in the first place… we’re more likely to change our mind about what a doctor is really good for.
In fact, more U.S. families facing catastrophic financial hardship are where they are due to medical debt than any other reason. With 14% of us living below the poverty line, and 54% just managing to live paycheck-to-paycheck, even a moderate medical situation could put millions of Americans in the position of having to choose between recovery (doctor’s care, prescription meds, etc.) and basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing.
We tend to only think about going to the doctor when something is wrong and we want it fixed. It may be difficult to find the time or money for regular checkups, but it’s worth considering how much more expensive not going can be. If you stay healthy, you don’t miss work, don’t get behind and don’t have to pay for medications that would have been necessary if you got sick. All of these things add up over time – but could easily be avoided by staying on top of your health with a little preventative care now and then.
Most people only go to the doctor when they are already feeling sick. However, going to the doctor regularly can save you money in the long run by preventing you from getting sick in the first place. By catching potential ailments early on, you can avoid them getting bad enough to impact your job or your money. This is a chance for you to build on the things you’re doing right and stay healthy overall.
We’ve written previously about how a general-wellness self-assessment can help you understand what is going on with your overall heath. S.P.E.M.S. stands for Social, Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual. You rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each of these health areas… and then write briefly about WHY you rate each area the way you did. If you rated your Social Wellness poorly, is it your relationships that are causing you concern? Which ones? Or is it just for missing a feeling of connection, or being unable to relate to others at school/work/neighborhood/church/wherever?
At your checkup, discuss your SPEMS assessment and bring up any concerns. This is a chance for you to talk to your doctor about any areas of your health that you’re worried about, and get some advice on how to improve them. By catching potential problems early on, you can avoid them getting worse and impacting your life in a negative way.
It might seem weird talking to your doctor about your emotional or mental health, but problems in these areas can create levels of stress that can result in physical health problems if left unattended.
It’s important to stay on top of your health by getting regular checkups, but it’s also important to be proactive about your health and ask your doctor for advice on changes you can make to your diet, exercise routine, or other habits. Your doctor is a valuable resource when it comes to understanding and improving your health, so don’t be afraid to ask him for his opinion. He may recommend changes that would be beneficial for you, and following his advice could help you stay healthy in the long run.
Hopefully, this begins an ongoing conversation with your doctor. By tracking your progress between visits, you can see which areas of your health need improvement and take steps to address them. It is much more useful to keep track of these changes your doctor recommends and the results of those changes than simply showing up to your next checkup and trying to remember everything that may have happened over the last six months.
It can be as simple as keeping a notebook and writing a weekly recap. There are also countless apps you can use on your smartphone that can help you track things right down to your meal, how many steps you’ve taken and how much water you’re drinking.
In the end, your body is a lot like a car or major appliance. It’s cheaper and easier to do the little things we know we should do to keep them running at peak performance than it is to wait and have to fix it once it’s broken. With that in mind, it is better to make use of your doctor’s knowledge and expertise to stay healthy than it is to have to rely on them to treat you when you’re already sick.