Preventive Healthcare

Preventive Healthcare

The department of preventive healthcare at Vinita Hospital was established with a vision to provide accessible, affordable, and quality preventive healthcare services across the country. We stand apart from others in our vision to make healthcare a reality for all people across Chennai besides providing an integrated health ecosystem to our patients. 

The multidisciplinary team working in this hospital are equipped with expert doctors, technical staff, nurses and the management as an endeavour to achieve the vision statement and to deliver top quality healthcare to all.

What are Preventive Health Check-Ups?

Preventive health check-ups are a series of medical examinations that are conducted to suggest measures for preventing diseases. It helps to estimate the current health condition of an individual and in the early detection of disease. Getting preventive healthcare services helps to identify specific infections, behaviours, habits, and medical conditions before it reaches an advanced or critical stage.

Who Requires Preventive Health Check-Up?

Preventive healthcare services should be utilized by people of working age-group between 35-65 years as they are being increasingly afflicted by lifestyle diseases. It is recommended that women, above 40 years of age, and men, above 35 years of age should undergo annual preventive care services. 

In case of a significant family history of a particular disease, it is prudent to initiate screening tests especially for particular diseases like diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancer of breasts, prostate, colon, etc.

Also, the general preventive measures include the availability of clean potable water, fresh air, balanced and nutritious diet, adequate rest, regular physical exercise, immunization against certain diseases, avoidance of smoking and tobacco use, and of course regular medical check-up.

Types of Preventive Healthcare Services

Here are few of the most common types of preventive care services taken at the Vinita Hospital. They include:

  • Full Body Check-up – This involves the medical examination of the whole body. This preventive healthcare service consists of a combination of individual medical tests, such as lipid profile test, blood sugar test, liver function test, kidney function test, thyroid tests, etc. 
  • Child Health Check-up – These check-ups under preventive care services comprise of medical examinations that are conducted to assess the health and` physical development of a child. Some of the medical tests include hearing test, ophthalmic examinations, etc. 
  • Women Health Check-up – This preventive care services includes medical tests to assess the general health of women and also detect any gynaecological problems. It also involves cervix cancer screening and breast cancer. For example, pap smear test, a pelvic exam and clinical examination of breasts are conducted in a women’s health check-up. 
  • Diabetes Check-up – Diabetes check-up is conducted for screening a person for diabetes. It includes testing of the blood sugar levels of a person with the aid of medical tests, such as glucose tolerance test, fasting blood sugar test, HbA1C, etc. 
  • Healthy Heart Check-up – This is categorised under preventive healthcare services by involving medical tests to check the heart health of a person. It also involves a detailed medical evaluation of a person’s cardiovascular system with the help of tests like ECG, chest X-ray, lipid profile, etc. 

Importance Of Preventive Health Check-ups

Our healthy lifestyle has been a hindrance as we don’t find ourselves in physical activities. This is affecting us today with various disorders like chronic heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, mental disturbances, and several hormonal imbalances. All of this can be prevented by making a comprehensive plan and executing a proper health check-up to prevent the disease from spreading or getting worse. 

Therefore, it is vital for everyone to approach the hospital for monthly or yearly preventive healthcare services by means of preventive check-ups to increase the chances of treatment and cure. How often you need assistance basically depends on your family history, age, and how often you are addicted to harmful activities like smoking or consuming alcohol, etc.

Exterminating a disease in the earliest stages is very easy and complicated. However, as the disease progresses, it tends to be more difficult for the patient to combat the medical condition, despite the finest treatment, impossible. Even if you have a belief that you are in the peak of your health, there may be certain signs and symptoms which are unnoticeable but may cause serious illnesses if left untreated.

List of Medical Tests Conducted Under Preventive Healthcare Services

The following list of medical tests are conducted under the most preventive care services or health check-ups:

  • Abdominal – Abdominal ultrasound
  • Cancer/ Tumour Markers – Breast mammography (For women aged above 30 years), PSA (For men above 45 years) and Pap smear/ TVS (For women aged 40 years and above)
  • Cardiac Indicators – ECG, chest X-ray, coronary angiography, 2D echocardiogram
  • Diabetes – Random blood sugar and Fasting blood sugar
  • Lipid Profile – Blood cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglyceride
  • Kidney –Blood urea, BUN
  • Liver – Serum bilirubin, liver enzymes
  • Thyroid – T3 level, T4 level, TSH

Benefits of Preventive Healthcare Services

Some of the Benefits of Preventive Health Check-Ups Include:

  • Health Assessment – Allows people to know the probability of getting sick and assess their health
  • Timely Precautions – Aids people to take timely precautions in preventing the development of any disease or medical condition.
  • Early Detection of Diseases – The preventive healthcare services enables doctors to detect a disease at an early stage to get the best possible treatment without any complications.
  • Inspires to Stay Healthy – It encourages people to lead a healthy and an active lifestyle by following a proper diet, regular exercise and staying away from unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy fats consumption, etc.
  • Regular Monitoring of Pre-existing Diseases – It enables people to regularly monitor pre-existing diseases and take timely measures to reduce its severity.
  • Focusing on Sleep – It helps people to have a good sleep cycle by monitoring their sleep and wake habits.
  • Reduces Medical Expenses – It enables people to maintain a track of their health and thus, save money than otherwise spending on expensive treatment of diseases.
  • Promotes Long-term Wellness – It keeps a check on the patient’s health condition.

Things to Consider Before Taking a Preventive Health Check-up

Here are some important things that a person should keep in mind before availing the preventive healthcare services: 

  • Make sure to go for a preventive care service or health check-up on an empty stomach as most medical tests will require the person to fast for at least 10 hours.
  • Remember to wear comfortable and loose clothes for a comfortable treatment.
  • Avoid wearing any accessories or metallic objects if the person needs to undergo imaging tests, such as CT scan, X-ray, bone densitometry, etc.
  • Remember to inform your doctor of any pacemaker, denture, and related objects in the body before the commencing of the tests.
  • Ensure to make conscious lifestyle changes if regular health check-ups are performed.

Thus, at Vinita Hospital, we understand the importance of timely treatment with early detection which is why we combine world-class medical and preventive healthcare services to endorse healthy living.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Preventive healthcare is crucial because it focuses on proactive measures to prevent diseases rather than just treating them after they occur. By detecting and addressing health risks early, individuals can avoid or minimize the impact of certain conditions, improve their quality of life, and potentially reduce healthcare costs in the long run.

To schedule a preventive healthcare appointment, you can contact your primary care physician or a specialized preventive healthcare provider. They will guide you through the necessary steps, such as scheduling appointments for screenings, assessments, or vaccinations, based on your specific healthcare needs.

The benefits of preventive healthcare include early detection and treatment of health conditions, reduced risk of developing certain diseases, improved overall health and well-being, increased lifespan, and potential cost savings by avoiding more extensive and expensive treatments that may be required for advanced illnesses.