Preventive Care & Annual Physicals
The visit where nothing is wrong is the one that keeps it that way.
Preventive care is the scheduled, symptom-free part of your health: an annual physical, age-appropriate screenings, vaccinations, and lab work that catches problems while they are still easy to treat. Medicare patients are also eligible for a yearly Annual Wellness Visit.
Annual physicals
A yearly exam gives us a baseline: blood pressure, weight, labs, medications, and a real conversation about how you are actually doing. Trends over time are what reveal problems early, and they only exist if you come in when nothing hurts.
Screenings we keep on schedule
Cholesterol and diabetes screening, blood pressure monitoring, colorectal cancer screening referrals, mammogram and bone density referrals, thyroid testing, and immunizations including flu, pneumonia, shingles, and tetanus. We track what you are due for so you do not have to.
Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
If you have Medicare, you are eligible for an Annual Wellness Visit each year. It is a planning visit. We review your health risks, medications, and screening schedule, and build a personalized prevention plan. It is separate from a physical exam, and many patients benefit from both.
Prevention is not abstract
The World Health Organization estimates roughly one third of cancers can be prevented through lifestyle change. Most of the leverage in adult health is in the decisions made long before a diagnosis, and that is a conversation, not a prescription.
Common questions
Is an annual physical the same as a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?
No. A physical is a hands-on exam. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is a prevention-planning visit that reviews your risk factors, medications, and screening schedule. Many Medicare patients have both.
How often should I have a physical?
For most adults, once a year. If you are managing a chronic condition, we will usually see you more often for that condition specifically.
What should I bring?
Your insurance card, photo ID, a list of all medications and supplements including doses, and any records or test results from other providers.
Other care we provide
Primary Care
An ongoing relationship with a care team that knows your history, not a chart handed to a stranger.
Telemedicine
Video visits from home or work for follow-ups, medication checks, and many routine concerns.
Same-Day Care
Same-day and next-day sick visits for established patients, at your own clinic rather than an urgent care.
Weight Loss & GLP-1
Physician-supervised weight management, including GLP-1 medications when they are the right fit.
Joint Injections
In-office knee, shoulder, and hip bursa injections for select patients, with no separate referral.
Appointments
How to get an appointment
Two paths, depending on whether we have seen you before.
New patients
Register, then we'll call you
Complete your registration online. It takes a few minutes. Our office contacts you to schedule your first visit and verify your insurance before you come in.
Existing patients
Request in the portal or the app
Send an appointment request through the patient portal or the athenaPatient app and our staff will schedule it. You can also text us at (256) 715-9598. For anything same-day or urgent, please call. The phone is faster.
Prefer to talk to someone? Call (256) 715-9598 during office hours: Monday through Wednesday 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Thursday and Friday 7:30 AM to noon. That same number accepts text messages.
Accepting new patients
Come see if we are a good fit for you. Register online in a few minutes, or call and we will walk you through it.
Already a patient? Request an appointment in the portal or use the athenaPatient app.