Recommended Tests
Your healthcare provider may recommend certain screenings or tests depending on your medical history. Below is a general list of what providers may recommend. Please consult your doctor to determine which tests are appropriate for you.
Ages 18-29
- Physical exam: Annually
- Eye exam: Once between ages 20 and 29
- Pap smear (women): Once a year for sexually active women
- Cervical cancer screening: Annually or bi-annually
- Cholesterol test: Needed if you smoke; are obese; or have high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of heart disease
Ages 30-39
- Physical exam: Annually
- Eye exam: Once between ages 30 and 39
- Pelvic exam (women): Once a year
- Pap smear (women): Once a year for sexually active women
- Cervical cancer screening (Women ages 30-66): If high risk for HPV, every five years
- Cholesterol test: Every five years if your last test was normal
Ages 40-49
- Physical exam: Annually
- Eye exam: Every two to four years
- Cholesterol test: Every five years if your last test was normal
- Mammogram (women): Baseline at age 40, then every one or two years
- Prostate exam (men): At age 45 for all African-American men and for white men with a family history of prostate trouble
- Bone density test: If the patient has had a fracture, a DEXA scan is needed within six months of the fracture
- Pelvic exam (women): Once a year
- Pap smear (women): Once a year for sexually active women
- Cervical cancer screening (Women ages 30-66): If high risk for HPV, every five years
- Colorectal Cancer Screenings (ages 45-75): FIT-DNA (Cologuard) every three years
Ages 50 and Older
- Physical exam: Annually
- Cholesterol test: Every five years if your last test was normal
- Mammogram (ages 50-74): Every two years
- Pap smear (women): Once a year for sexually active women. After age 70, women no longer need this test if they have had three normal pap smears in a row or no abnormal results in ten years.
- Cervical cancer screening (Women ages 30-66): If high risk for HPV, every five years
- Rectal exam: Once a year
- Fecal occult blood test: Once a year
- Sigmoidoscopy: Every five years
- Colonoscopy: Every ten years
- Colorectal Cancer Screenings (ages 45-75): FIT-DNA (Cologuard) every three years
- Prostate exam (men): Once a year
- Bone density test: If the patient has had a fracture, a DEXA scan is needed within six months of the fracture
- Baseline audiogram: At age 60
- Skin cancer screening: Every one to two years