Preventive Care for Older Patients

While some patients often think of preventive screenings for young and healthy individuals, much of our recommended screenings happen later in life. For older patients (50 and up) there is much to discuss when it comes to what screenings are appropriate for them. Unfortunately, in traditional primary care settings where visit times are quite short, these conversations rarely happen. Typically, a doctor tells a patient what to get and when without much discussion on personal preference, risk, age, family and personal history, etc. While not the best way to maintain a good doctor-patient relationship, this also often leads to over screening, as reported in a recent NY Times article.

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