Is Your Primary Care Doctor Focused on Prevention? What Patient Data Reveals

When you think about your primary care, it often centers on what’s happening right now. A concern that needs attention or a symptom that needs to be evaluated.

But what about your long-term health?

At its best, primary care helps you understand your risks, plan for the future, and make decisions that support your long-term health. That kind of care requires time, conversation, and a consistent focus beyond the immediate visit.

To better understand how often that actually happens, PartnerMD conducted the Primary Care Check-Up, an online self-assessment completed by more than 500 people. The Check-Up evaluates primary care across four key areas: access and availability, relationship and time with the physician, prevention and long-term care, and coordination and support.

When it comes to prevention, the results point to a clear pattern. Here’s what we’re seeing:

• Preventive care is underemphasized. Prevention & Long-Term Care received the lowest score of all categories at 30 out of 100.
• Annual physicals often lack depth. Only 18% of patients describe their most recent physical as extremely thorough.
• Long-term health conversations are uncommon. Just 12% say they frequently discuss long-term goals or lifestyle changes with their doctor.
• Wellness support is limited. 59% report that their physician offers no wellness resources.

Each of these reflects a different part of the experience. Together, they suggest that for many patients, primary care is more reactive than proactive.

Across each of these areas, the same pattern starts to emerge.

Prevention is often limited in primary care. 

In many primary care visits, the focus is understandably on what brought you in that day, whether it’s a symptom to evaluate, a concern to address, or a question that needs an answer. 

But when most visits center on immediate needs, there is often little time left to step back and look at the bigger picture.

In the Primary Care Check-Up, Prevention & Long-Term Care received a score of 30 out of 100, the lowest of any category measured.

For many patients, this reflects an experience where prevention is not consistently built into care. Instead, it becomes something that is addressed occasionally, rather than intentionally over time.

Without consistent preventive care, many conditions go unmanaged until they become more serious. Today, 6 in 10 U.S. adults live with at least one chronic disease, and 4 in 10 live with two or more. 

Annual physicals often don’t go far enough.

Annual physicals are often seen as the foundation of preventive care. They are meant to provide a comprehensive view of your health, identify risks early, and create a plan for the year ahead.

But for many patients, that is not how the experience feels.

“In traditional primary care, you can often see which patients are at risk, but without the time and tools to go deeper, those risks aren’t always addressed early. The focus becomes managing disease instead of preventing it."

- Dr. Jim Mumper, PartnerMD Richmond

Only 18% of respondents describe their most recent physical as extremely thorough. Many report that their visits cover the basics but leave little room for deeper discussion or evaluation.

When time is limited and appointments are tightly structured, physicals can become more checklist-driven than personalized. Important details may be reviewed, but the broader context of your health may go unexplored.

Long-term health planning is rarely part of the conversation.

Prevention is not just about tests and screenings. It also depends on ongoing conversations about lifestyle, risk, and long-term goals.

Yet those conversations are not happening consistently.

"Improving your long-term health isn’t something that happens by accident. It requires actively understanding your risks and taking steps early to reduce them over time."

- Dr. Roger Shih, PartnerMD Richmond

Just 12% of respondents say they frequently discuss long-term health goals or lifestyle changes with their doctor. Discussions about advanced testing for prevention or longevity are similarly uncommon.

When time is limited, visits often stay focused on what feels most urgent, leaving little room for long-term planning and making it harder for patients to have a clear roadmap for their future health.

Wellness support beyond the visit is often missing.

Preventive care does not end when an appointment is over. It depends on what happens between visits as well.

For many patients, that support is limited.

The Primary Care Check-Up found that 59% of respondents say their doctor offers no wellness resources. This can include guidance on nutrition, exercise, stress management, or access to additional support such as health coaching.

Without that structure, patients are often left to navigate lifestyle changes on their own.

In many cases, meaningful wellness support requires more than a brief conversation during an appointment. It depends on ongoing guidance, accountability, and follow-up over time.

"Wellness programs extend the care I can provide beyond the exam room. In a visit, I can introduce important topics, but ongoing support allows patients to go deeper, with more specific guidance around things like nutrition, weight management, and stress. That’s often what helps turn good intentions into real, lasting change."

- Dr. Eric Carr, PartnerMD Owing Mills

In some cases, the impact of prevention is well established. For example, type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in many cases through lifestyle changes, yet those conversations and supports are often missing from routine care. 

Even when the intention to improve health is there, the lack of ongoing support can make it difficult to turn plans into lasting habits.

Why prevention gets overlooked in primary care.

For many physicians, the challenge is not a lack of interest in prevention. It is a lack of time and structure within the system.

Traditional primary care models often require physicians to manage large patient panels while keeping appointments short and tightly scheduled. In that environment, immediate concerns naturally take priority.

Prevention, which requires time for conversation, context, and follow-through, can be harder to consistently incorporate.

Over time, care can shift toward addressing what is urgent rather than planning for what is ahead.

Models that are designed differently, with more time and smaller patient panels, are better able to support that kind of forward-looking care. 

When prevention is built into care, the experience changes.

Some models of care, such as concierge medicine, are designed to approach prevention differently.

By allowing more time for each patient and focusing on long-term relationships, these models create space for deeper conversations, more thorough evaluations, and ongoing support beyond individual visits.

The goal is not simply to respond when something goes wrong, but to better understand each patient’s health over time and help them make informed decisions about what comes next.

When prevention is built into the structure of care, it becomes a consistent part of the experience rather than an occasional focus.

Prevention matters in primary care.

Preventive care plays a central role in how effective primary care can be over time.

CDC data shows that for many of the leading causes of death in the U.S., roughly 25% to more than 50% of premature deaths are considered preventable. 

Preventive care allows physicians to:

• Identify risks earlier

• Create a clear plan for long-term health

• Support sustainable lifestyle changes

• Reduce uncertainty about future health

When prevention is not consistently addressed care becomes more reactive. Patients may receive answers in the moment, but lack a clear sense of direction for what comes next.

Consider your own experience.

Consider your own primary care.

• Does it go beyond addressing immediate concerns?

• Do you regularly talk about your long-term health goals?

• Does your annual physical feel thorough and personalized?

• Do you have support for building healthier habits over time?

Prevention is one of the foundations of strong primary care. When it is present, patients feel more confident, prepared, and supported in the direction of their health.

To explore the full findings, category-level results, and detailed methodology, download the complete 2026 State of Primary Care Report or take the 3-minute Primary Care Check-Up to see how your experience compares.