Quick Answer
A routine follow-up (sometimes called a sick visit or chronic-care visit) is focused on one or a few specific problems — a medication adjustment, a symptom workup, a lab review. A physical exam is broader: it's the comprehensive preventive visit that screens for new problems, reviews your whole history, and updates your prevention plan for the next year. Both have a role. Most patients see us once a year for the physical and additional visits as needed for chronic-care management.
This question comes up frequently for patients researching routine physical exams at Good Health NC in Knightdale, NC.
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