An annual wellness visit is one of the most useful appointments you’ll have with your primary care provider. It’s not a sick visit and it’s not a rushed check-in—it’s a scheduled hour or so dedicated to reviewing your overall health, updating screenings, and setting goals for the year ahead. For many families in Anchorage, it also becomes the anchor visit that keeps everyone on track with vaccinations, labs, and preventive care.
If you’ve never had a wellness visit, or it’s been a few years, here’s a practical look at what typically happens and how to prepare.
What an Annual Wellness Visit Actually Covers
The exact structure depends on your age, sex, and personal history, but most wellness visits share a common framework. Your provider will review your medical background, current medications, family history, and lifestyle factors like sleep, activity, nutrition, alcohol use, and stress. They’ll also check vitals—blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and BMI—and perform a focused physical exam.
From there, the visit becomes personalized. A 30-year-old woman planning a pregnancy has different screening needs than a 60-year-old man with a family history of colon cancer. Your provider will recommend age-appropriate screenings, lab work, and immunizations based on current guidelines and your individual risk profile.
Common Elements You Can Expect
- Review of medical, surgical, and family history
- Medication and supplement reconciliation
- Vital signs and physical exam
- Age- and risk-based cancer screenings (such as mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screening, or lung cancer screening for eligible patients)
- Cardiovascular risk review, including cholesterol and blood pressure
- Diabetes screening when indicated
- Mental health check-in, including screening for depression and anxiety
- Immunization updates (flu, COVID-19, tetanus, shingles, HPV, pneumococcal, and others as appropriate)
- Lifestyle counseling on nutrition, exercise, sleep, and substance use
- Discussion of any new symptoms or concerns you’d like to bring up
How to Prepare
A little prep goes a long way. Before your visit, gather a current list of your medications and supplements, including doses. Note any specialists you’ve seen since your last visit and any hospitalizations or imaging studies. If you can, jot down two or three questions or concerns you want to cover—things like a recurring headache, changes in sleep, joint stiffness, or family history you’ve been thinking about.
If lab work is part of your visit, ask ahead whether you should fast. For most cholesterol and glucose panels, a 9–12 hour fast is standard, though newer guidelines allow non-fasting lipids in many cases. Bring water, and wear something comfortable that allows easy access to your arm for a blood pressure cuff.
Why the Yearly Cadence Matters
Preventive care is most effective when it’s consistent. Blood pressure trends over three years tell a very different story than a single reading. Weight, mood, and lab values shift gradually, and small changes caught early are far easier to address than problems that surface after years of drift. A yearly visit also builds continuity with your provider, so when something does come up—an injury, a new symptom, a travel plan requiring vaccines—you’re already working with someone who knows your baseline.
Wellness Visits for the Whole Family
Children have their own wellness schedule, often called well-child visits, which are tied to growth, development, and vaccination milestones. Women may combine an annual physical with cervical cancer screening or contraceptive care. Adults benefit from age-based screenings that shift each decade. Coordinating these under one primary care home in Anchorage makes it easier to stay current without juggling multiple offices.
If it’s been more than a year since your last wellness visit, consider scheduling one. It’s a small time investment that pays off across the rest of the year—and often for years after.
