People put off preventative care during COVID-19. Don’t delay these exams, experts say
Preventative care visits have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing concern among health experts who say some exams and visits are critical for staying healthy.
Exams, including mammograms and pap smears, decreased by around 80% in April compared to the same time period in 2019, according to nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). Colonoscopies were down about 90% and childhood vaccinations decreased around 60% in April.
HCCI data from millions of health care claims in 18 states show preventative care decreased significantly in mid-March through mid-April.
As of June, colonoscopies are still down 30%, mammograms are down 23%, and vaccinations for children are down 30%.
Should you still visit the doctor during the pandemic?
Despite the availability of telemedicine, health experts say it’s critical to keep up-to-date on vaccines and certain screenings.
“Not only have physicians taken painstaking steps to ensure their practices are safe, but there are also telehealth options and other ways to speak with your physician,” Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, told CNN. “Vaccines should not wait, and certain screenings are critical. You do not want to end up in a position where you or a loved one is in the hospital because you opted against routine care.”
“This COVID crisis has shined a searing spotlight on the importance of preventive health care in our country and across the world,” Dr. Gary LeRoy, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told TODAY. “Telemedicine is a tool; it’s not a replacement for the patient-physician interaction.”
Doctors are worried for those forgoing cancer screenings during the pandemic because cancers can be more complicated to treat if caught at a later stage. They’re encouraging people to keep up with their appointments.
“We’re really becoming worried about the patients that we’re going to be seeing, and that we’re starting to see now,” Dr. Natalie Stanton of Arizona Blood and Cancer Specialists told KGUN9. “Now things are coming to light because they’re having symptoms. And now, you know, what could have been caught at a much earlier stage, which would have been more treatable, is now being discovered a much later stage, which may be more difficult to treat.”
The same goes for mammograms and pap smears. Mammograms can find cancers that are hard to detect during breast exams, according to the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Pap smears are recommended to screen for cervical cancer in women ages 21 and older.
“If the results are normal, then they can get one every three to five years,” said Dr. Amrita Kochhar, internal medicine specialist at Penn. “Between 21 and 29, it’s every three years. From 30 to generally 65, it’s every three to five years, depending on whether you get a reflex HPV test with the Pap smear.”
Some doctors say annual wellness visits are also still recommended in order to check for any health problems.
“You want to keep your body, your most precious asset, in tune all the year long,” LeRoy told TODAY. “We don’t want to give the public the impression that wellness visits are not essential because they are, especially for diabetics and hypertensives and people with chronic lung diseases. They really are essential monitors of the status of their overall health.”
With coronavirus still running rampant, it’s important to get the flu vaccine in order to not overwhelm hospitals this season.
“I think this fall nothing can be more important than to try to increase the American public’s decision to embrace flu vaccine with confidence,” Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told the editor of JAMA on Aug. 20.
What precautions should you take?
The CDC recommends notifying a doctor if you think you have COVID-19 and following their instructions.
The CDC also says to practice regular coronavirus precautions, including not touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, staying 6 feet away from others, washing your hands and wearing a face covering in public.
If possible, avoid in-person visits to the pharmacy and have your medication delivered, the CDC says.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 3:06 PM with the headline "People put off preventative care during COVID-19. Don’t delay these exams, experts say."