Autumn is an excellent time of year to prioritize health, notes Dr. Timothy Burner, who specializes in family medicine. For one thing, many patients have met their insurance plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximums by year’s end.

After you meet your plan’s deductible, insurance starts paying a portion of your covered care, although you may still need to pay a coinsurance percentage or a flat copay. With a plan’s out-of-pocket maximum, you don’t pay anything else for covered care after you hit the limit.

However, on Jan. 1, these numbers reset to $0. “If you have something bothering you, come in fall or winter before your deductible resets,” Burner says. Here are a few things to check off.

Annual checkups and problem visits

When kids return to school, it’s a “great time for parents to focus on their own health and get in for a wellness exam they’ve put off,” Burner says. Preventive care includes age-based screenings and tests to detect or prevent illness — colonoscopies, Pap smears, mammograms and wellness exams that review your general state of health. 

Annual physicals pay off in more ways than one. These visits don’t usually require a deductible or copay. A 2021 study found that general checkups were associated with improved patient-reported outcomes, increased chronic disease recognition and treatment and patients accepting even more preventive services.

But it’s critical to understand the difference between your annual checkup and “something bothering you.”

While it may be tempting (or seemingly efficient) to wait until your annual to mention that strange rash, an aching shoulder or tingling in your foot, your insurance company doesn’t see it the same way. A visit that mixes preventive and diagnostic care may not be fully covered, making you more likely to get a bill.

“If you have shoulder pain or a rash, come back for a separate visit to get better care, as the physician can focus on that and give you more time,” Burner says.  

When making the follow-up appointment, explain what you’re trying to do to the schedule and choose the most essential condition to take care of at the time.

School sports physical

Most students take care of fall-related tasks in the summer, such as college-required vaccinations or sports physicals. But as with any situation, last-minute exams happen.

Most high school athletic associations require sports physicals, or “preparticipation physical evaluations,” to join school-based sports teams. Almost eight million U.S. high school students participate in some type of sports.

These shorter exams in physician offices differ from the yearly checkups reviewing overall physical and developmental growth.

“We look at muscle, bone, joints, hearts and lungs,” Burner says, to reassure schools and sports leagues that all cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neurological systems are in working order.

Specifically, the sports physical covers a teen’s physical health and evaluates the teen for life-threatening or disabling conditions.

In some cases, health care providers discover mild issues that require treatment, modified activities, or further investigation. But that’s the exam’s purpose — to ensure the athlete isn’t at risk of sudden cardiac arrest or any other illness or injury.

“Rarely, we don’t sign off or ask someone not to participate in sports until they see a specialist,” Burner says — but it can happen.

Autumn is the time to complete these physicals for the winter sports season. Getting a same-day appointment with a primary care provider may be very difficult if you’re facing an immediate deadline. Some urgent care clinics offer sports physicals on a walk-in basis, but you may have to wait in line (with everyone else). ZoomCare often has same-day or next-day appointments available.

Fall vaccination season

Many vaccines are time-sensitive — you want to get next season’s flu and COVID vaccines before the winter waves arrive. Even if you caught this summer’s COVID virus, you’ll still want to get the updated booster.

“Like the flu, COVID changes a little every year, much like changing a coat,” Burner says, to dodge your immune system’s recognition algorithm. Flu and COVID boosters are designed to match that new coat and prevent the worst symptoms of an infection.

Burner notes you can usually add a vaccine onto a wellness exam, but that’s harder to achieve with a sports physical. If you hope to vaccinate the whole family, many pharmacies offer flu and COVID boosters.

Other fall maladies

As the days get shorter, many people also feel gloomier.

“We see an increase in people with seasonal affective disorder,” Burner says. “As primary care doctors, we help treat depression and anxiety” or adjust medications.

A physician can refer you to a specialist if you need further help with mental health or any other condition. “There is no wrong door,” Burner says. “Come see us; we’ll ensure you see whoever you need.”

And if you’re tight on time, follow-up visits by video can get many things — including mental health visits — done.

Same-day access

If you’ve found it challenging to get in for a same-day or last-minute appointment for an autumn health need, you’re not alone. Some people are finding it may take three months to see a new provider and up to a month if you’re an established patient.

At most urgent care clinics accepting walk-ins, “if you don’t have an appointment, you might be waiting there for quite a while,” Burner says.

However, at ZoomCare, patients are generally seen for appointments the same day or the next day. Records can be shared even if the ZoomCare provider isn’t your usual physician.

After an appointment, the charts, notes and test records should be accessible to your regular physician.

Just remember that the end-of-year crunch is real. If you waited until Dec. 15 to get medical care done, remember (almost) everyone else did that, too. It’s best to make your wellness visit appointment long before December’s short days and holiday breaks.

ZoomCare’s vision is to make health care easy. With 45+ conveniently located clinics throughout the Pacific Northwest, ZoomCare offers same- and next-day appointments for Urgent, Primary, Specialty and Emergency care. Evening and weekend visits are available, and most insurances accepted.