What to Expect During Your Annual Wellness Visit

When can I have my annual wellness visit?

Insurance plans vary:

Some allow one annual visit per calendar year.
Others require 365+ days between annual visits.
Medicare allows the visit anytime during the same month as your previous year’s wellness visit.

Ultimately you will need to check with your insurance provider to confirm your specific coverage. Otherwise, you can always wait 365+ days from your last annual visit.

What do I need to know about lab work and fasting for my annual wellness visit?

If you would like to have bloodwork at the time of your visit:

Fast for approximately 8 hours beforehand.
Water, black coffee, and regular medications are OK!

If fasting at the time of your visit is not convenient, labs can always be done later, including weekends:

Main office lab: Monday–Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Immediate care lab: Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Established patients may also request labs ahead of their scheduled wellness visit, just send us a message at least 7 days in advance of your appointment.

Common annual labs covered by most insurers include:

Complete Blood Count (CBC) - check for infection fighting cells, anemia and platelets
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) - check for electrolyte levels, liver function, kidney function and blood sugar
Lipid Panel - check for good and bad cholesterol levels
Urinalysis - check for urine infection and other abnormalities in urine

You or your provider may request additional tests based on your medical conditions, but be aware that additional tests may not be covered by insurance.

What will the exam be like?

Check in at the front desk so we know you are here, even if you checked in online!

Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment time.

A medical assistant will call you back and perform an intake beginning with your basic vitals, weight, height, blood pressure, pulse and temperature.

You will then be asked questions about your overall health, pre-existing conditions, to review your current medications and supplements (have a list handy if needed!), whether or not you see other medical providers, and any concerns you want to raise with the provider.

The doctor will see you now…

Afterward the provider will come in to review your overall health, medications, vaccines, cancer screens, bloodwork, and discuss any other issues you want to raise. A focused physical exam is conducted, which may include: listening to your heart and lungs, examination of ears, nose, throat, abdomen and extremities. Once the plan is finalized you will typically be given paperwork for any relevant labs, imaging tests, and referrals.

Am I allowed to ask additional questions during an annual wellness visit without incurring an additional office visit charge?

Typically if you are discussing pre-existing conditions with your provider, and not making any significant changes to your medical care, that will be part of your wellness visit.

However, if significant changes are being made to your medical care (starting a new medication, making dose adjustments), or if you are bringing up a new issue, then a second office visit charge is typically applied. This is done to encompass the care a provider is giving, you can always opt to schedule another visit if you wish to keep these issues separate from your annual. Depending on your insurance it is often more efficient to combine an office visit with your annual wellness visit (less time scheduling, returning to the office, and potential co-pay).

How do I get my results?

The best way to check results is to get setup on the MyPrivia patient portal: https://www.myprivia.com/account-access

You will be able to look at your results directly with a summary from your providers.

This is also typically the most efficient way to ask your care team any questions you may have.

Otherwise, if you do not get set up on the portal you will receive a call from one of our medical assistants to review your results or results may be mailed to you.