It is essential to create a health maintenance and screening plan that is designed to prevent potential health problems, and to identify complications as they develop. The U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce offers detailed recommendations for individuals of different age, gender, and health classes, in order to guide them to make the best medical decisions possible. The following is a health maintenance and screening plan, designed for a 57 year old male.
When creating the health maintenance plan, it is important to consider the individuals unique health situation, including risk factors, age, weight, and a variety of other sets of personal information. First, it should be noted that the individual for whom the plan is being created is obese, with a BMI of 35.6, based on his current height and weight. However, given that he has denied any medical history, it can be assumed that he is a member of the population without a “known diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or cardiovascular disease” (U.S. Preventative Services, 2016).
As such, according to the U.S. Preventative Services Taskforce, it is needful to begin pursuing a healthy diet, accompanied by physical activity, in order to decrease the total risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Specifically, the plan with thus include initiating behavioral counseling, in the primary care setting, in order to establish healthy diet and an exercise routine. The diet, as recommended should include various fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber. It should also be low in cholesterol, trans fatty acids or saturated fats, and sodium (U.S. Preventative Health Services, 2016).
The plan must also increase the patient’s physical activity level. Though he claims to walk daily, his exercise is not occurring in a structured way. Thus, the plan will include a minimum of 150 minutes per week. This will implement a combination of physical training mechanisms, including muscle/strength training two days a week, and cardiovascular exercise at least 3 days a week. In accordance with the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
The goal of these actions is to reduce the total BMI to below 24.9, in order to meet the national health guidelines for risk reduction (National Heart, Lung and Blood, 2016). This will reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more.
Preventative services, including screening will also be routinely implemented. Though the U.S. Preventative Services Taskforce (2016) has ceased to recommend routine prostrate screening, the patient displays certain symptoms, including difficulty urinating, which are consistent with prostate difficulties. As such, digital imaging of the prostate is recommended annually, with potential indication for the PSA antigen specific test for prostate cancer conducted at the physician’s discretion as it is deemed necessary. Additional recommended screenings include blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, annually, in order to determine what steps should be taken, in terms of preventative care, in order to protect the body overall.
While there are other risk factors, and health concerns of general interest based on his gender and age, they are based on health history. As such, they are not recommended in this specific case, because he denies any medical history that would correlate with further testing. None the less, it is recommended that the treating, or primary care, physician work to gain further information regarding the patient’s familial history, in order to determine what additional preventative care and screening protocols could be applied in order to protect the patients’ health further.
References:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2016). Assessing your weight and health risks. Health Information for the Public. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/risk.htm
U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. (2016). Health Recommendations. Retrieved from http://www.uspreventivservicestaskforce.org.
