Also called: Annual checkup · Annual physical examination · Routine physical examination
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Health Checkup
Regular checkups with your health care provider are different from appointments for sickness or injury. These checkups include physical exams as well as preventive care. Preventative care may include:
- Screening tests, which are medical tests to check for diseases early, when they may be easier to treat. Which screenings you need will depend on your: Age
- Sex
- Overall health
- Family health history
- Risks for certain diseases
To make the most of your next check-up, here are some things to do before you go:
- Review your family health history
- Find out if you are due for any general screenings or vaccines
- Make and bring a list of issues and questions you would like to talk about with your provider
- Make and bring a list of any medicines, vitamins, supplements that you take
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Wellness and Lifestyle.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Health Checkup
1,629 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Phase 1 Challenge Study Using rDEN2delta30-7169 to Evaluate Host-Pathogen Interactions in Primary, Homotypic, and Heterotypic Dengue Virus InfectionNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Examining Relationships Between Musculoskeletal Function Measurements of Movement Efficiency and Nervous System Function After Chronic StrokeUniversity of California, Davis
- Prosthetics-Orthotics Rehabilitation AwarenessLokman Hekim University
- Examining the Impact of the Parenting Young Children Check-upWayne State University
- MySmartSkin Online Skin Self-exam Intervention for Melanoma SurvivorsRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Efficacy of LSVT-LOUD Therapy on Voice, Speech, and Quality of Life in Parkinson's DiseaseAtlas University
Research already completed
- Study of iBreast, a Handheld Device to Detect Breast Abnormalities During Screening Visits for Breast CancerMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Examining the Effects of ARCS-Based Education on Cardiovascular System Physical Examination Skills, Motivation, and Self-Efficacy Levels in Nursing StudentsCumhuriyet University
- Examination of Clinical and Laboratory Abnormalities in Patients With Defective DNA Repair: Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome, or TrichothiodystrophyNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Virtual Reality-Based 360° Clinic Walkthrough for Reducing Examination Anxiety in Preschool ChildrenBerker Okay
- Accuracy of Physical Examination for Assessing Inspiratory Effort During Assisted VentilationCentre Hospitalier Saint Joseph Saint Luc de Lyon
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Are You Up to Date on Your Preventive Care?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- Adult Immunization Schedule by Age (Addendum Updated June 27, 2024)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- How to Understand Your Lab ResultsNational Library of Medicine
- Talking With Your Doctor: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Physical Examination. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Health Checkup, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.