I’m 54. Over the past decade, I’ve been to the doctor on six occasions....period. Like you....if it’s not broke, don’t waste time or money.
The reason for annual or even semiannual physical is to gather numbers. The long term view can be assisted by analyzing the variance over a long period of time. Although actually seeing the patient and making a check of the actual living body yields results, the numbers gathered and analyzed are more important over the long haul.
Modern medicine is based on lots of numbers and the variance and interaction of those numbers over time. While it is possible to go overboard at any little change, it is prudent to allow time to be a part of the analysis. A change today can be checked in 6 months to determine the veracity of an important variance.
It is also true that there might be doctors that are greedy. If that is the fact, the patient is guilty of a purchasing error. Another doctor should be selected. There is also the problem of over testing resulting from fear of law suits. There is no way to remedy that problem until the current law is changed to remove the super penalties imposed. For routine care, that is also a purchasing error.
My experience this year is that the insurance company prefers to pay for checkups rather than a costly problem that could have been prevented or lessened. This is to the point where they pay a nurse practitioner to come to your home to have an interview and determine if a course of visits to the physician would be of benefit. This a proactive course. It was a problem for both me and my wife because we have the annual and semi annual care that the home visit is promoting to those who don’t or resist.
We have medicare advantage with the largest of the providers that is seriously out front promoting wellness rather than treatment after the fact. I view that as a very positive outcome