preventative care vs. diagnostic care
Preventative care includes immunizations, lab tests, screenings, and other services intended to prevent illness and disease. The right preventative care at the right time can keep you healthy and could even save your life.
Diagnostic care involves treating or diagnosing a health problem by monitoring existing problems, addressing new symptoms, or following up on abnormal test results.
why it matters
In most cases, you won’t pay out of pocket for preventive care, but you may have to pay something for diagnostic care. If both preventive and diagnostic care occurs during the same visit, you most likely will pay for the diagnostic services (copayment, deductible, or co-insurance). Remember, coverage varies by the insurance carrier, plan, and network. The best way to verify your coverage is to call your insurance company and discuss what is covered for preventative and diagnostic care.
what does this mean to me?
At Spectrum Medical, we provide both diagnostic and preventative care. For us to best address your needs, we recommend scheduling your visit for preventative care separate from your diagnostic care appointment.
Preventative Care examples: PrEP, annual wellness exams, well woman exams, routine lab testing, and colon cancer screening.
Diagnostic Care examples: HIV treatment and management, diagnosis and treatment of STDs, medication management, and diabetes management.
did you know?
We have a special PrEP clinic every other Saturday available for our patients on PrEP. We also offer TelePrEP services where your entire PrEP visit, including navigation and your provider visit, can be done virtually. These programs are for preventative PrEP care ONLY. All diagnostic care is scheduled during regular clinic hours and is predominantly done in person to ensure we provide the best care to our patients. Please check with your insurance carrier to confirm telehealth visits are covered under your specific plan, as we cannot be responsible for plan-specific exclusions.
Visit spectrummedicalcare.org/services/ to find out more about the variety of services we offer.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC INSURANCE PLAN’S COVERAGE, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR PLAN DIRECTLY.
ch-ch-changes
You may have noticed a few new things around Spectrum Medical. In October 2021, we embarked on a journey to reinvent our clinic, and while it is still a work in progress, there are new resources for our patients and the broader community available now.
Explore our new website spectrummedicalcare.org; and communicate with your care team through the new Healow patient portal. If you don’t already have access to our new patient portal, contact us at 602-604-9500 and we can get you all set up!
u.b.u. crew
Did you know that Spectrum Medical has a community outreach team called the U.B.U. Crew? Our U.B.U. Crew attends community events throughout Maricopa County to provide health and wellness services. Keep up with our U.B.U. Crew on our website and social media pages, and stop by an event to say hello. To learn more about our community outreach program, visit spectrummedicalcare.org/outreach/.
happy birthday to us!
Spectrum Medical is celebrating the big 2-5! That’s right – our practice started back in 1997. We have come a long way since Dr. Vanig started his small but mighty clinic. A big shout-out goes to our patients for trusting us with your care over the last quarter century. As we move into the next 25 years, we will continue to focus on providing excellent patient-centric care.
speaking of a quarter century…
Dr. Vanig has been with Spectrum Medical for all 25 years, along with other staff members who have been with us for quite some time. Our Senior Director of Finance and Compliance, Brandi Lawson-Garlutzo, has been with Spectrum for nine and a half years. Physician Assistant, Isabel Brady, and Medical Assistant, Michelle Byers, have been with Spectrum for five years. These are just a few members of our dedicated team working hard to make Spectrum a safe and caring place for our patients.
Are you interested in joining our Spectrum family? Here’s the current list of our employment opportunities!
more reasons to celebrate
Please join us in wishing Happy Birthday to our staff with August birthdays – Administrative Project Manager, Aimee Barninger, and Medical Assistants, Bessy Moreno and Michelle Byers. It’s a big month for Michelle, as we also celebrate her 5th work anniversary in August.
