Four reasons young adults should have a primary care provider

OOSTBURG, Wis. – Primary care physicians are often the first and most regular point of contact between patients and their team of health care providers. This relationship is important because primary care physicians can treat and help prevent many health conditions before symptoms and diseases progress. Prevea Health reminds young adults of the importance of establishing a primary care specialist for their short and long-term health goals.

At Prevea, primary care specialists include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and advanced practice providers (APP), all of whom encourage young adults to find a primary care specialist to conduct their annual health exams. These exams are proven to be crucial for identifying diseases early, encouraging patients to change lifestyle choices, and for establishing a trusted health care provider who knows their patient’s long-term health history.

Dr. Sarah Weiss, family medicine physician at the Prevea Oostburg Health Center, says young adults who stay on top of their yearly physicals can help avoid numerous health problems later in life. These routine checkups allow doctors and providers to diagnose diseases early, identify healthy lifestyle choices, catch signs and symptoms of prediabetes and obesity, and share with their patients how taking action now can help them avoid health concerns which could worsen over time.

Dr. Weiss offers the following reasons why having a primary care specialist in your 20s and early 30s is important:

1. Early treatment of diseases: By diagnosing a disease in its early stages, patients have a better chance of treating and managing diseases. As a younger adult vs. an older individual, patients are more resilient to many treatment options and often have more successful outcomes in overcoming their health concerns.
2. Create healthy lifestyle choices: Regular exams with a primary care specialist can provide younger patients a lifelong blueprint for optimal health. From drinking more water, to taking multi-vitamins, exercising, and eating more vegetables, an annual visit with a primary care specialist can help younger patients understand what lifestyle choices they should alter to reach their health goals.
3. A doctor who knows their patient’s medical history can offer better care: Through yearly physicals, young adults can share their health care concerns and goals with a health care provider they have come to know over the years. Knowing a patient’s health history allows a trusted provider to order the most appropriate tests, refer care to specialists and help determine the best treatment options based on a patient’s needs, health history and goals.
4. Identifying health concerns early: When health concerns including high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol are identified early, patients have a better chance of preventing permanent health concerns, which can worsen. Early detection of many health concerns can be treated more effectively than those identified after the condition progresses.

Dr. Weiss provides routine medical care for children and adults; yearly physicals; well-child visits; preventive medicine; medication management; women’s care and minor office procedures. Appointments with Dr. Weiss at the Prevea Oostburg Health Center can be made by calling (920) 552-5046, or online at: www.prevea.com

Prevea primary care specialists in the Sheboygan region also offer health screenings and yearly physicals at the following locations:

• Prevea Kohler Health Center, 950 Woodlake Rd., Kohler, WI - (920) 783-3150
• Prevea Oostburg Health Center, 15 S. 10^th St., Suite A, Oostburg, WI - (920) 552-5046
• Prevea Plymouth Health Center, 825 Walton Dr., Plymouth, WI - (920) 892-4322
• Prevea Sheboygan Health Center, 1411 N. Taylor Dr., Sheboygan, WI - (920) 457-4858
• Prevea Sheboygan Medical Office Building, 3113 Saemann Ave., Sheboygan, WI - (920) 496-4700

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About Prevea Health

Founded in Green Bay, Wis. in 1996, Prevea Health is a health care organization that provides high-quality, primary and specialty health care in 80+ locations across Northern, Eastern and Western Wisconsin in clinic and hospital settings. It is partnered with six Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) hospitals across Wisconsin to provide patients a system of highly-coordinated care, close to home: HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay; HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan; HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls; HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire; and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. For more information, visit www.prevea.com.