The adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," really is true, according to a family practice physician from Provo.

"We emphasize, very strongly, preventive medicine," said Dr. Gray F. Graham, part of the Family Practice Residency at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Provo. On Saturday, he and another physician from the residency program, Dr. K.C. Tubbs, will be available to answer the public's questions on a wide range of topics, from detecting birth defects to combating allergies.Tubbs and Graham are planning to take calls during the monthly Deseret News/Intermountain Health Care service, "Health Care Hotline."

What is preventive medicine? Simply, doing routine maintenance on the body.

"Oftentimes people are not inclined to go in and see a doctor if they're feeling well," Graham said. In fact, insurance companies haven't always reimbursed their policyholders who visited doctors for preventive care, he said.

"But that's slowly coming," he added. Insurers are realizing that if a patient can go to the physician early and detect a problem, that can not only dramatically improve the patient's chances of survival, but it can save a great deal of money in terms of paying for treatment.

Kids need shots on a regular basis. Children should get vaccinations at two months of age, during a routine newborn checkup. The doctor can "screen for congenital anomalies that are not picked up at birth," he said. The baby can be checked for tumors and other problems that benefit from early detection.

Another purpose of preventive medicine is to teach people about how to supplement their common-sense approach to avoiding accidents. "We often talk of accidents as being preventable," he said.

"We routinely remind young parents, for example, that when their child is reaching toddlerhood - when they're crawling, when they're mobile - that the parents need to childproof the home," Graham said.

Suddenly, parents must get medication out of the child's reach, put covers on electrical outlets, get tablecloths out of the way, make sure heavy objects can't be knocked over by someone small.

Sound preventive medicine means that patients undergo blood counts and other screening exams, get counseling on diet, have their vision checked, pick up recommendations on exercise. Routine screenings "can detect things before they are a problem," Graham said.

Some preventive medicine practices that are commonly ignored are:

- "We aren't vaccinating near to the extent that we should. And a lot of that is perhaps due to ideological belief."

Graham, Tubbs and other preventive medicine doctors can give literature to parents leery of getting their children vaccinated. The pamphlets explain what the vaccine is, what the possible complications are and statistical data on how likely the child is to have a significant complication.

"Vaccines are not without complications. But when you compare the complications that are attributable to vaccinations, vs. the complications of having an illness without a vaccination, there is a significant increase in associated morbidity and mortality (resulting from) . . . not having them." Risks are generally much greater if a child doesn't have the necessary vaccinations.

- Too many children - and others - aren't getting physical exams on a routine basis. "A routine physical, at any age, can dramatically prevent problems from becoming clinically significant."

- Middle-aged and older people especially need regular preventive screenings. Few men are as diligent as they should be to catch prostate cancer, he said. "Women, I think, are on board with mammograms and breast checks," but so many men are uncomfortable about prostate tests that they don't follow recommendations about regular checkups.

With prostate cancer, "it's definitely to their advantage to catch it early. The five-year survival rate is much higher if you catch it early on."

*****

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

View Comments

Health hotline

Dr. K.C. Tubbs and Dr. Gary F. Graham, both of the Family Practice Residency at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, want people to know how to protect themselves against avoidable suffering and death.

Preventive medicine is the topic for Saturday's "Health Care Hotline," in which they will answer questions called in by the public. The hotline, sponsored by the Deseret News and Intermountain Health Care, is offered on the second Saturday of every month. IHC is a charitable, community-owned, nonprofit health-care organization based in Salt Lake City. It includes 23 hospitals and clinics, plus affiliated doctors and insurance plans.

Tubbs and Graham will field questions from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. They can be reached toll-free by calling 1-800-925-8177. Callers need not give their names.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.