Why Do I Need a Doctor if I'm Not Sick?

by Dr. Justin Sparkes, INTEGRIS internal medicine physician

Dr. Justin Sparkes, an internal medicine physician with INTEGRIS, answers why you should see a doctor, even if you're not sick.

I'm Dr. Justin Sparkes, internal medicine with INTEGRIS. I get asked a lot, "Why do I need to have a doctor before I am ever ill?" And we love to take that advantage of this question to screen for preventable diseases, to look for problems before they become bigger problems, whether it's stroke or cardiovascular health. Many of our cancer screenings, be it cervix, breast, prostate, or colon, all of the above have very simple solutions when we can catch them early enough in disease course. The solutions won't typically alter a person's life, but not addressing them early enough almost inevitably will. We'd like to take advantage to say, "Hey, this usually is a service that's already been included on your insurance so please don't fail to take advantages of getting in front of us, asking anything about your health, health questions, way to proceed with your life's journey that may be pertinent to you." It's just a chance to get together. It's also an invaluable chance that, should physical illness come in your future, that we have a baseline. We already have an established relationship. We've met on a good day, and then we know, as a physician, here's where we need to bring you back to. This was a good day. This is what we want to achieve to bring you back to health. So please take advantage and meet a physician for a visit for screening and preventable services as soon as you can. Thank you.