Preventive Health Check-up

What are Preventive Health Check-ups?

Preventive health check-ups are a series of medical examinations conducted to suggest measures to prevent diseases. It helps to estimate the current health condition of a person and in the early detection of disease. Preventive health check-ups help to identify specific habits, infections, behaviours, medical conditions before it reaches an advanced or critical stage.

Benefits of Preventive Health Check-ups

Take a look at some of the benefits of preventive health check-ups:

• Health Assessment – It allows people to assess their health and know the probability of getting sick.
• Timely Precautions - It allows people to take timely precautions to prevent the development of any disease or medical condition.
• Early Detection of Diseases – It enables doctors to detect a disease at an early stage where treatment is easily possible without any complications.
  Regular Monitoring of Pre-existing Diseases – It enables people to monitor their pre-existing diseases regularly and take timely measures to reduce their severity.
• Inspires to Stay Healthy – It encourages people to lead a healthy lifestyle by following a good diet, exercising regularly and staying away from unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, unhealthy fats consumption, etc.
• Focusing on Sleep – It helps people to focus on their sleep cycle by monitoring their sleep and wake habits.
• Reduces Medical Expenses – It enables people to keep a track of their health and thus, save money that would otherwise be spent on expensive treatment of diseases.
• Active Involvement in Self Healthcare – It enables people to stay actively involved in their healthcare, thereby, leading a healthy lifestyle.
• Promotes Long-term Wellness – It promotes long-term wellness among people by keeping a check on their health condition.
• Tax Benefits – It enables people to earn tax benefits of up to Rs 5,000 in a financial year under Sec 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

List of Medical Tests Conducted Under Preventive Health Check-ups

The following table represents the list of medical tests conducted under most preventive health check-ups:

Types of Preventive Medical Check-ups

Here are some of the most common types of preventive health check-ups:

• Full Body Check-up – Full body health check-up involves the medical examination of the entire body. It usually consists of a combination of individual medical tests, such as blood sugar test, lipid profile test, kidney function test, liver function test, thyroid tests, etc. Check out health insurance plans covering full body check-up costs.
• Women Health Check-up – This type of preventive health check-up conducts medical tests to assess the general health of women and detect any gynaecological problems. It also involves breast cancer and cervix cancer screening. For example, a pap smear test, pelvis exam and clinical examination of breasts are conducted in a women health check-up. Make sure to buy health insurance for women to get the preventive health check-up costs covered.
• Child Health Check-up – Child health check-ups comprise of medical examinations conducted to assess the health and physical development of a child. Some of the medical tests included in a child health check-up are hearing test, ophthalmic examination, etc. Do not forget to opt for child health insurance to get the cost of health check-ups covered.
• Diabetes Check-up – Diabetes check-up is conducted to screen a person for diabetes. It tests the blood sugar levels of a person with the help of medical tests, such as fasting blood sugar test, glucose tolerance test, HbA1C, etc. Diabetic patients can also purchase health insurance for diabetes to cover the costs of preventive health check-ups.
• Healthy Heart Check-up – A healthy heart check-up involves medical tests conducted to check the heart health of a person. It involves a detailed medical evaluation of the cardiovascular system of a person with the help of tests like lipid profile, ECG, chest X-ray, etc. Do check out health insurance plans for heart patients plans to get the healthy heart check-up costs covered.

Major Preventive Medical Tests to Consider for Different Age Groups

The following table lists the various age-specific preventive medical tests that a person must look for while undergoing a health check-up:

How Preventive Health Check-ups Deter Lifestyle Diseases?

Preventive medical check-ups are essential to detect lifestyle diseases that are often termed as ‘silent killers’. These diseases mostly develop due to poor lifestyles and harm the body even before the symptoms develop. Most lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes can be fatal if not treated on time. Regular preventive health check-ups are the only way to timely screen a person against lifestyle diseases.

For instance, the only way to diagnose cancer at an early stage is by regular health check-ups as it is often symptomless in the initial stage. Similarly, a regular check on blood pressure and blood cholesterol is important to prevent the onset of any heart disease. In the case of diabetes, regular foot and eye examination can help detect related complications, such as foot ulcers and retinopathy.

Who Should Opt for a Preventive Medical Check-up?

People of all ages should get a full body check-up done at least once a year. Contrary to popular beliefs, a lot of diseases and medical conditions can be diagnosed in childhood & adulthood and not only in old age. 

Nonetheless, people of age 30 years and above should opt for preventive health check-ups without fail. Doing so can help such people detect a variety of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases etc. at an early stage.

Tax Deductions on Preventive Health Check-ups

As per the Income Tax Act, 1961, tax deductions are available on preventive health check-ups under Section 80D. As per the current tax regime, a tax deduction of Rs 5,000 can be availed on the cost of preventive health check-ups every year under Section 80D of the IT Act. These deductions can be availed on medical check-up expenses incurred for self, spouse, dependent children and parents.

However, tax savings of Rs 5,000 on preventive health check-ups are included in the maximum tax exemption limit of Rs 25,000 available on health insurance premiums in a financial year. In the case of senior citizens, the maximum tax deduction limit on insurance premiums increases to Rs 50,000 per financial year, which includes Rs 5,000 on the cost of preventive health check-ups.

Things to Keep in Mind When Going for a Preventive Health Check-up

Here are some important things that a person must keep in mind while going for a preventive health check-up:

• Make sure to go for a medical check-up on an empty stomach as most medical tests require the person to be fasting for at least 10 hours.
• Remember to wear loose and comfortable clothes to move easily.
• Avoid wearing any metallic objects or accessories if the person needs to undergo imaging tests, such as X-ray, CT scan, bone densitometry, etc.
• Remember to inform the doctor of any denture, pacemaker and related objects in the body before the tests commence.
• Make sure to make conscious lifestyle changes if regular health check-ups are done.

List of Preventive Healthcare Packages in India

Most hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and other healthcare providers offer preventive health check-up packages to the public. These packages are usually specific to a disease, gender or age group. Take a look at the various preventive healthcare packages available in India:

• Basic Health Package – The basic health package allows people to undergo basic body screening without focusing on any one disease, gender or age group. It usually includes tests such as blood glucose fasting, complete blood count, etc.
• Full Body Package – This package allows people to get their whole body screened for various diseases and medical conditions. It includes complete blood count, lipid profile, blood sugar levels, etc.
• Diabetes Package – This package has been designed for diabetic patients who need to keep a regular check on their diabetes level and the health of vital organs to avoid any complications. This diabetes check-up includes blood glucose fasting and kidney function tests amongst others. 
• Cardiac Package – The cardiac package is meant to assess the risk of cardiovascular diseases amongst people, including heart attacks & stroke, and take timely measures to reduce its severity. This healthy heart check-up includes medical tests such as chest X-rays, ECG, etc.
• Cancer Package –  The cancer package has been designed to screen the patient for various types of cancer and mitigate the risks. It consists of tests, such as pap smear, clinical examination, blood test, etc. Make sure to opt for cancer insurance plans to get the cancer package cost covered.
• HIV Package – This package is meant to screen a person for HIV and take timely measures to deter the disease. It usually comprises of tests, such as HIV 1&2 bodies, complete hemogram, blood glucose fasting, etc. Check out health insurance plans for HIV patients to cover the cost of an HIV package.
• Fertility Package – The fertility package has been designed for couples who are struggling to conceive and require fertility-related check-ups. It usually includes pelvic scan, random blood sugar, AMH test, etc. Do not forget to opt for health insurance plans for infertility treatments to get the cost of the fertility package covered.
• Women Package – This package is meant to assess the health risks faced by women and detect life-threatening diseases in women at an early stage. This women health check-up usually includes tests, such as pelvic examination, breast mammography, etc. 
• Family Package – The family package provides a full-body check-up to the entire family. It screens all family members against various diseases to keep a track of their health. It includes a liver function test, complete blood count and lipid profile amongst others. Make sure to purchase family health insurance to get the health check-up expenses of your whole family covered.
• Pediatric Package – This package has been designed to assess the health risks faced by children of up to 13 years. This child health check-up includes dental examination, ophthalmic examination, pediatric examination, etc.
• Dental Package – This package is meant to evaluate the dental health of a person. It helps to eliminate the risks of plaque, cavities, tooth decay as well as oral cancer. Check out dental insurance plans to cover the cost of the dental package.

FAQs on Preventive Health Check-up