It is easy to skip an appointment when nothing hurts. Regular health check-ins are less about fixing something. They are about knowing your own numbers, raising small questions early, and tracking how things change over time. Here is what a check-in covers, when the national guidelines say to start, and where a video call reaches its limits.
What is a health check-in?
A health check-in is a planned appointment about your general health, rather than one specific problem. A practitioner reviews your history and asks how you have been. You talk through your family history and your daily habits. Then your practitioner considers whether any checks or tests are clinically appropriate for you.
What does a practitioner cover in a check-in?
The ground covered is fairly standard, and knowing it in advance makes the appointment shorter and more useful.
- Your current health, any symptoms, and anything that has changed since last time.
- The medicines you take, including anything bought over the counter.
- Family history, particularly heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
- Alcohol, smoking, movement, food and sleep.
- Mood and stress.
- Immunisations, and the national cancer screening programs relevant to your age.
- Whether any investigations or blood tests are clinically appropriate.
If you have a home blood pressure monitor, take a reading before the appointment and have the number ready. It is one of the more useful things you can bring to a video call.
When should you start having your heart risk checked?
The 2023 Australian guideline for assessing and managing cardiovascular disease risk recommends a risk assessment for people without known cardiovascular disease from age 45, from age 35 for people living with diabetes, and from age 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The assessment weighs several factors together rather than any single number.
Source: Nelson et al., Medical Journal of Australia, 2024.
Why bother when you feel fine?
Because plenty of conditions are quiet at the start. In the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2022 National Health Survey, 49.9% of people had at least one chronic condition, and 81.4% had at least one long-term health condition. A check-in can help the quiet ones get noticed. It also puts your own baseline on record while you are well.
Source: ABS Health conditions prevalence, 2022.
A baseline is the underrated part. A cholesterol result provides useful information, while results over time can help your practitioner understand how your health is changing.
What can a video check-in do, and what can it not?
Telehealth is not suitable for all parts of a check-in. A video consultation covers the conversation: your history, symptoms, family history, daily habits, screening, and whether any tests are clinically appropriate. It cannot take your blood pressure, examine you, or draw blood.
Where those are needed, your practitioner can request pathology or imaging, arrange an in-person appointment, or write a referral to another doctor where clinically appropriate. Pathology testing and collection costs are separate from the consultation fee. Individual results vary. What is worth checking depends on your age and your history.
What happens to your results?
Results go back to the practitioner who ordered them, and your practitioner can discuss them with you. Results over time can help show how your health is changing. At NexaHealth, relevant consultation notes, results and care information are securely stored in your NexaHealth record. They can be accessed by your treating care team where appropriate.
How does a check-in work with your GP?
A check-in by video works alongside your usual GP and any other care you have. With your consent, your practitioner can share relevant information with your usual GP. Your NexaHealth consultation records are securely stored and available for future care where appropriate. Nothing here replaces in-person care.
If something feels urgent, do not wait for a scheduled check-in. Call 000 in an emergency.
Next step: book a preventive health consultation with a qualified Australian practitioner.
This article is general information only and is not a substitute for medical advice about your own situation. Your health needs are individual and individual results vary. We do not advertise specific prescription medicines to the public, in accordance with Australian regulatory requirements. Speak with a qualified practitioner about what is right for you.
