Some of us may be skipping our annual physicals. And our skin exam. Perhaps the dentist, too. Maybe we don’t think we need it this year, with everything going on. Or maybe we’re too spooked by the possibility of contracting COVID-19 to visit the doctor’s office.
Overall, it is true that Americans are often in excellent health, particularly when compared to eras past. But as Mark Zeitzer, the Portland-based medical director for acute-care services at ZOOM+Care, explains, that’s because we’ve done a great job with preventive health from annual flu shots to cancer screenings.
“Preventive care greatly improves life expectancy, and it has gotten us to where we are today with a population that’s typically in great health,” he says. “Over the last 10-20 years, we’ve seen the survival rates of cancer go up thanks to early detection,” he says. As another example, flu shots keep us from catching the