Ponca City, OK 04/01/2021 – If you’ve put off seeing your doctor for fear of catching or spreading the COVID-19 virus, AllianceHealth Ponca City wants you to know it’s safe and important to come in.

Precautions for your safety include enhanced sanitation of commonly touched surfaces, arranging common area furniture to support social distancing, separating COVID-19 testing sites so that suspected COVID patients are not in the office, masking of all patients and providers, screening all clinic visitors, staff, and anyone entering our facilities, and limiting visitors.

“We’ve already started to see the consequences of delaying routine screenings. Disease doesn’t wait for COVID so preventative screenings are as important as ever,” said Aaron Wilcox, D.O. “Masks are worn in our offices, surfaces are sanitized, and we try to move our patients back to rooms promptly so less time is spent in common areas like the waiting room. There’s no timeline to the end of the pandemic and it’s important for us to meet with patients to prioritize routine care.”

Here are five reasons to make an appointment for your next well-visit or checkup without delay.

1. Check on your general health. The clinic has a record of your health metrics over time, including cholesterol, blood sugar, weight and others. If any numbers are trending in the wrong direction, your doctor can help you make a plan to get back on track with lifestyle changes, diet or medical treatment.

2. Manage chronic conditions. Ongoing medical concerns, whether diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or others require regular monitoring by a provider to keep them from progressing to life-threatening levels. Regular checkups can help you avoid a medical crisis.

3. Identify issues early with routine screenings. The practice keeps records of your screening exams to help you remember when it’s time to get your colonoscopy, mammogram, bone density test, prostate exam and other screenings. Early identification of many illnesses can give you the most options for treatment and better outcomes.

4. Stay current on vaccinations for your protection. While you’re hearing plenty of news about the COVID-19 vaccine, there are a number of other vaccinations to prevent disease as your immune system weakens over time. Flu shots annually. Tetanus shots every ten years. Vaccines for shingles and pneumonia and more. The practice will remind you when it’s time to get your immunizations.

5. Keep prescriptions updated. Bring a full list of your medications, including any over-the-counter, so your physician has a complete picture of what you’re taking. An annual review can identify possible side effects or medication conflicts.

Of course, the best reason of all is peace of mind about your health. AllianceHealth Ponca City has many providers in convenient locations including our Primary Care and Urgent Care clinics to make it easy for you to access care.

If you need help finding a primary care physician, call (580) 765-0507 or visit AllianceHealthPoncaCity.com to be connected with one of qualified family medicine, internal medicine or gynecologic physicians.

Sources: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-your-annual-check-up-is-still-important-to-your-health

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html