• Have your blood pressure checked at least every 2 years.
• Have your cholesterol screened at age 35 for men and 45 for women.
• If you are overweight, have a blood test to check for diabetes, or high blood sugar, every year. Also, ask your doctor to help you learn how to lose weight and choose foods that are healthy for you.
• If you have felt down, depressed, hopeless or have felt little interest or pleasure in doing things, you may be depressed and should tell your doctor.
• Discuss alcohol use with your doctor. Your doctor can help you assess whether you have a drinking problem and provide treatment if necessary.
• Discuss tobacco use with your doctor. We may be able to help you stop smoking.
• Men age 45 and women over age 55 should talk with their doctor about taking an aspirin a day to prevent heart problems.
• If you are 50 or older get a test to check for colon cancer.

• Make sure your doctor is aware of all medications that you are taking. There are some medications that should not be prescribed for older patients.

• First pap smear should be done at age 21, then every 2 years until age 30; after that if these are normal, every 3 years.
• If you are between the ages of 16 and 25 and have ever been sexually active, you should be checked for sexually transmitted infections every year.
• If you are 26 or older and have any risk factors you should be checked for sexually transmitted infections every year.
• If you are over age 50, you should have a mammogram every 1-2 years.

For people with diabetes:

• Have an A1C test every 3-6 months. ‘A1C’ is a measure of your average blood sugar over the past three months. Goal is an A1C less than 7.
• Have your blood pressure checked at least twice a year. Your blood pressure should be less than 130/80.
• If you have high blood pressure and diabetes you should be on a medication that helps lower your blood pressure and protect your kidneys.
• Have a urine test every year to make sure your kidneys are working properly.
• Your cholesterol levels should be checked at least once a year.
• If you have diabetes and are over age 40, you should talk with your doctor about taking an aspirin a day to prevent heart problems.

For people with heart and/or blood vessel disease:

• Have your cholesterol checked at least once a year.
• Make sure you are taking a cholesterol lowering medication.

For people with hypertension (high blood pressure):

• If your blood pressure has been over 140/90 at least three times in the past year, you have high blood pressure or ‘hypertension’ and should be treated
• If you have high blood pressure, have your blood pressure checked at least twice a year after it is at goal of 135/85
• You should also talk with your doctor about taking an aspirin a day to prevent heart problems.
• Check out  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/

For people with asthma (older than age 5):

• You should discuss a prevention medicine with your doctor.

A word about antibiotics:

• DO NOT TAKE OR REQUEST antibiotics for most colds, coughs, and sore throats.

We are participating in a research project that will help us to provide you with better health care. The recommendations above were obtained from and included here with permission from the Practice Partner Research Network.