Here’s what happens when people skip their annual wellness exam for a few years.
They feel basically fine, so they don’t go. They’re busy. It seems unnecessary when nothing is wrong. Then one routine appointment — when they finally do go — reveals that their blood pressure has been creeping up for months without a single symptom. Or that their blood sugar is in prediabetic range. Or that a cholesterol number is far enough out of range that a conversation is urgently needed.
None of those things felt like anything. That’s exactly the point.
The annual wellness exam exists because the most preventable health conditions are often the ones that don’t announce themselves. Hypertension is called the “silent killer” because it causes no symptoms while quietly damaging blood vessels, kidneys, and the heart. Prediabetes presents as nothing — until it becomes diabetes. High cholesterol has no physical sensation. Thyroid dysfunction disguises itself as simply feeling tired or gaining weight.
The wellness exam is how a physician catches these things before they become serious — and how you build the kind of long-term relationship with a doctor who actually knows you and your health history. At Modera Clinic & Med Spa, that relationship is the core of everything we do.
This guide gives you a complete, honest picture of what a wellness exam actually involves, what you should bring and ask, and why establishing this habit — at any age — is one of the highest-value health decisions you can make.
What Is an Annual Wellness Exam, Exactly?
The terminology around wellness visits can be genuinely confusing, so let’s clear it up.
An annual wellness exam (also called an annual physical, preventive care visit, or annual checkup) is a comprehensive health evaluation performed when you are feeling healthy — not in response to a specific symptom or illness. Its primary purpose is prevention and early detection: identifying risks, monitoring trends, ensuring you’re up to date on screenings and vaccines, and building an accurate picture of your health over time.
This is fundamentally different from a sick visit (or acute care appointment), which addresses a specific current illness, injury, or symptom. It is also different from a chronic care management visit, which focuses on ongoing monitoring and management of a diagnosed condition.
Understanding this distinction matters practically: most major insurance plans cover annual wellness exams as preventive care, typically with no out-of-pocket cost or co-pay. However, if you bring up a separate medical concern during your wellness visit — a symptom, a medication change, a new diagnosis — that component may be billed separately as a sick or follow-up visit. Your Modera provider will help you navigate this clearly so there are no billing surprises.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — the gold-standard body for evidence-based preventive care recommendations — provides the framework that guides which screenings, lab tests, and preventive interventions are recommended based on age, sex, and risk factors. These recommendations are the backbone of what your wellness exam includes at Modera Clinic & Med Spa. You can explore current USPSTF recommendations at uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org.
What Actually Happens During Your Wellness Exam at Modera
Here is an honest, step-by-step picture of what your annual wellness exam at Modera Clinic & Med Spa involves:
Before You Arrive You may be asked to fast for 8–12 hours before your appointment if bloodwork is expected, particularly for cholesterol and blood glucose testing. Drink water normally; take your regular medications unless your provider advises otherwise. Compile a list of all current medications — prescription, over-the-counter, and supplements — and note any health concerns or questions you want to discuss.
Vital Signs and Physical Measurements Your visit begins with a nurse or medical assistant recording your weight, height, and BMI (body mass index). Your blood pressure and heart rate are measured, and your temperature may be taken. These baseline measurements are charted each year to track trends — a blood pressure reading that’s borderline once is different from one that’s been climbing steadily for three years.
A Thorough Review of Your Health History Your physician reviews your medical history, surgical history, family history, social history (including lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, diet, and exercise), and current medications. This review deepens meaningfully with every year of the relationship — because a physician who has seen you annually for five years has a longitudinal view of your health that a stranger simply cannot replicate.
Head-to-Toe Physical Examination Your physician conducts a comprehensive physical exam: listening to your heart and lungs, examining your abdomen, checking reflexes, assessing your skin, evaluating your eyes and ears, and examining other systems relevant to your age and health history. This systematic check gives your physician the opportunity to notice anything that warrants further attention — things that simply wouldn’t surface without someone looking for them.
Lung Function Evaluation Your physician evaluates your respiratory function — particularly important for patients with any history of smoking, respiratory conditions, or environmental exposures.
Laboratory Testing Bloodwork is a cornerstone of the wellness exam. Depending on your age, risk factors, and health history, your physician may order:
- Complete blood count (CBC) — screens for anemia, infection, and other blood disorders
- Comprehensive metabolic panel — kidney and liver function, blood glucose, electrolytes
- Lipid panel — total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides
- HbA1c — a three-month average of blood sugar levels; key for diabetes and prediabetes screening
- Thyroid function (TSH) — particularly important for women over 40 and patients with symptoms of thyroid dysfunction
- Urinalysis — kidney function, infection, and other markers
At Modera, in-house labs mean your results are processed quickly and your physician can discuss findings with you directly.
Age and Risk-Appropriate Screenings Based on your age, sex, and family history, your physician will discuss and order relevant preventive screenings — including colorectal cancer screening, mammography, cervical cancer screening (Pap smear and HPV testing), bone density screening, skin cancer evaluation, and others. Your physician will explain what each screening is for and when it’s recommended — not just hand you a referral without context.
Immunization Review Your physician reviews your vaccination history and updates any that are due — including annual flu vaccination, COVID-19 boosters, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), shingles vaccination (recommended starting at age 50), pneumonia vaccination for eligible patients, and others appropriate to your age and health status.
Mental Health Screening Depression, anxiety, and cognitive function screening are increasingly standard components of the annual wellness exam — and appropriately so. Mental health has profound connections to physical health, and these screenings create an opening for conversations that might not otherwise happen.
Personalized Preventive Plan Your physician closes the visit by discussing a personalized prevention and wellness plan — lifestyle recommendations, upcoming screenings, medication adjustments if needed, and any referrals warranted. This is the conversation that makes the wellness exam genuinely valuable: a frank, informed discussion with a physician who knows your health picture and can help you prioritize what matters most for the next twelve months.
What You Should Actually Ask at Your Wellness Exam
Most patients leave their annual wellness exam having answered all of their doctor’s questions without asking enough of their own. Here’s what you should bring to the conversation:
“Is my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar where they should be for my age?” Don’t leave without knowing your actual numbers — not just “fine” or “normal.” Know the specific values and what they mean.
“Based on my family history, what should I be specifically watching for?” Family history of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, or other conditions changes your screening priorities significantly. Your physician should be mapping that history to your care plan.
“Am I due for any screenings or vaccinations I haven’t had yet?” Ask explicitly — don’t assume everything has been ordered. Patient engagement in this question leads to better preventive care coverage.
“Is my weight or BMI a concern, and what would you recommend?” If weight management is relevant to your health, have the direct conversation. Modera physicians can connect you with our medically supervised weight loss program if that’s clinically appropriate.
“Are there any lab values that have been trending in a direction that concerns you?” This is the question that gets at the longitudinal value of annual exams — not just what the number is today, but which direction it’s been moving.
“Are there any lifestyle changes that would have the most significant impact on my health right now?” Your physician’s answer to this question, given your specific health picture, is far more valuable than generic wellness advice.
The Modera Approach: A Wellness Exam That Goes Beyond a Checkbox
The typical wellness exam in a high-volume primary care practice runs 15 minutes and covers the essentials. At Modera Clinic & Med Spa, we take a different approach — one that combines the structure of a comprehensive wellness exam with the depth of care our patients deserve.
Your wellness exam at Modera is a real conversation with a board-certified physician who has time to understand your health goals, not just your current numbers. If your labs reveal patterns that warrant deeper investigation, we can move directly into a functional medicine evaluation — which investigates root causes of imbalances rather than simply noting them. If a chronic condition is detected or a previously managed condition needs closer attention, our chronic care management program provides the ongoing structure to manage it effectively.
And because Modera is a full-spectrum practice — primary care and med spa under one roof — your wellness exam is also an opportunity to integrate your physical health conversation with your aesthetic and wellness goals. Many patients find it genuinely valuable to have their physician’s perspective on how their overall health connects to goals like weight management, skin health, energy, and body composition.
Sports physicals for student athletes and active adults are also available at Modera — offering the medical clearance needed for school, recreational, and competitive sports programs, conducted by the same physician-led team that handles your regular care.
Why Skipping Your Annual Exam Costs You More Than You Think
The irony of skipping preventive care is that it’s almost always more expensive — in every sense — than the alternative.
A wellness exam that catches prediabetes early leads to lifestyle interventions that may prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes entirely — avoiding the lifetime of medication, monitoring, and complication management that comes with a missed diagnosis. A routine blood pressure check that catches Stage 1 hypertension leads to early intervention that prevents the stroke or cardiac event that costs incomparably more — in medical bills, in recovery, in quality of life.
Most insurance plans cover your annual wellness exam at 100% as preventive care — meaning there is often zero out-of-pocket cost to you. For uninsured patients, Modera’s team will discuss options clearly before your appointment.
The appointment that most people put off because they feel fine is often the one that finds the thing they didn’t know they needed to address. That’s not alarmist — it’s the entire reason preventive medicine exists.
Book Your Annual Wellness Exam in North Texas
Modera Clinic & Med Spa offers comprehensive annual wellness exams and sports physicals at all three North Texas locations:
Frisco | 5575 Frisco Square Blvd #220, Frisco, TX 75034 | Text or Call: 469-920-2302 Prosper | 2381 E University Dr #50, Prosper, TX 75078 | Text or Call: 469-253-5105 Little Elm | 2700 E Eldorado Pkwy #104B, Little Elm, TX 75068 | Call or Text: 972-987-0458
Same-day appointments are available. Book your wellness exam online or contact your nearest location today. If you haven’t established care with a primary care physician in the Frisco, Prosper, or Little Elm area yet — this is where to start.
Frequently Asked Questions About Annual Wellness Exams
What is included in an annual wellness exam?
An annual wellness exam at Modera Clinic & Med Spa includes a comprehensive physical examination (head-to-toe assessment), vital signs measurement (blood pressure, heart rate, weight, height, BMI), lung function evaluation, laboratory testing (bloodwork and urinalysis based on age and risk factors), immunization review and updates, age-appropriate cancer and disease screenings, mental health screening, a review of your complete medical and family history, and a personalized preventive care plan developed with your physician.
How often should I get a wellness exam?
Adults should receive a comprehensive wellness exam at least once per year. Annual exams allow your physician to monitor health trends over time, detect emerging conditions before symptoms appear, update vaccines and screenings, and adjust your preventive care plan as your health evolves. Patients with existing chronic conditions may benefit from more frequent visits. Children should receive regular wellness visits at age-appropriate intervals from infancy through adolescence.
Is an annual wellness exam covered by insurance?
Yes. Most major insurance plans cover annual wellness exams as preventive care, typically with no co-pay or out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Modera Clinic & Med Spa accepts most major insurance plans at all three locations. Note that if you discuss a separate medical concern during your wellness visit — a new symptom or medication question — that component may be billed separately. Contact our office or your insurance provider to confirm your specific coverage before your appointment.
What should I bring to my wellness exam?
Bring your insurance card, a valid photo ID, and a complete list of all current medications including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements. Bring any relevant medical records if you’re a new patient. Write down any health questions or concerns you want to discuss. If bloodwork is expected, follow your physician’s fasting instructions — typically no food for 8–12 hours before your appointment, water and regular medications are fine.
What is the difference between a wellness exam and a sick visit?
A wellness exam is a preventive health screening performed when you feel well — focused on early detection, screening, vaccination, and building a long-term health picture. A sick visit addresses a specific current illness, injury, or symptom. Most insurance plans cover wellness exams as preventive care at no cost to the patient, while sick visits are billed as standard office visits subject to co-pays and deductibles. Modera Clinic & Med Spa offers both, and our team will ensure your appointment is scheduled and billed appropriately for your needs.
What age should I start getting annual wellness exams?
Annual wellness exams are recommended at every stage of life. Children should receive regular well-child visits from infancy. Adolescents benefit from annual physicals that address growth, development, and age-specific health topics. Adults of all ages — including those in their 20s and 30s who consider themselves healthy — benefit from establishing a baseline and building an ongoing relationship with a primary care physician. The earlier you begin, the more valuable the longitudinal health picture your physician builds.
Does Modera Clinic offer sports physicals?
Yes. Modera Clinic & Med Spa provides sports physicals for athletes of all ages at all three North Texas locations. Sports physicals include a physical examination, cardiovascular screening, musculoskeletal assessment, and medical clearance for participation in school, recreational, and competitive sports programs. Call or text your nearest location to schedule.
Can I combine my wellness exam with other services at Modera Clinic?
Yes. Because Modera is a full-spectrum practice offering both primary care and med spa services, patients can schedule a wellness exam alongside consultations for weight loss, mental health, functional medicine, or aesthetic treatments. Your physician can discuss how your overall health picture connects to any additional goals during the same visit. Note that additional services beyond the wellness exam are billed separately per your co-pay or plan — med spa services are self-pay.
