Amrutha Pavle, M.D. Answers Questions On: Preventive Medicine

It’s all the small changes a person can make in his or her everyday living to prevent or postpone the onset of major causes of death and disability, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

I talk with patients about health screenings and following the guidelines when it comes to cancer screenings and other important health measures. I also work with my patients on lifestyle changes, seeing what they can do in their everyday lives, and seeing what we can do together, to keep them healthy long term.

Women are usually so busy taking care of their family that they tend to ignore their own health issues; they put their families first. No matter what their cultural background, all women tend to do that. So I pay special attention to women in terms of preventive health. I try to educate them about simple things they can do to prevent serious health problems later on, such as Pap smears, which have drastically reduced the rates of cervical cancer.

Usually my patients are more equipped to figure that out than I am ­– because they know what they can do and what they cannot do due to multiple reasons. And me telling them what to do is not nearly as effective as them coming up with solutions that fit with their own lives. So we work together; I offer them information and tools they can use to make decisions for themselves that will help them achieve their long-term goals.