Annual Health Checkups Explained: What They Cover and Why They Matter

What an annual checkup actually is

An annual health checkup — sometimes called a periodic health examination — is a scheduled, proactive visit whose purpose is to detect problems early, update your prevention plan, and keep chronic conditions under control. Unlike a walk-in visit, which is built around a single complaint, an annual assessment reserves the time and structure to look at the whole person.

At CurAge Santé, the assessment is delivered by a nurse practitioner and reviewed by our medical director, Dr. Lyne Souligny. The format is designed for the reality of Quebec adults who often no longer have a family doctor and cannot rely on the public system for timely preventive care.

The visit is not a substitute for care of acute problems — a sore throat or a suspected infection should still be booked as a focused consultation. Think of it as the yearly maintenance schedule for the rest of your health.

What is included in a typical assessment

A modern assessment combines four blocks: history, measurement, laboratory, and plan.

Structured medical and family history, medication review, immunization review, mental health screening, and lifestyle inventory (sleep, activity, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, stress).

Full vitals measured with proper technique: seated blood pressure after five minutes of rest, resting heart rate, weight, height, BMI, and waist circumference.

Focused physical examination guided by age, sex, and risk profile — cardiovascular, respiratory, thyroid, abdominal, and skin.

A personalized blood work requisition. In Quebec, private clinicians can prescribe standard panels: CBC, complete metabolic panel, HbA1c, fasting glucose, lipid profile, TSH, ferritin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, hepatic and renal function. Advanced markers (ApoB, hs-CRP, uric acid, hormone panels) are added when clinically justified.

A written action plan sent to your patient portal after the results review, with recommendations, follow-up timeline, and referrals if needed.

Who benefits most from a yearly assessment

Every adult over 30 benefits from a baseline. The return on time invested is highest for four groups: adults without a family doctor who receive no periodic preventive care, adults over 40 whose cardiometabolic risk begins to rise sharply, adults with a family history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, and adults with existing risk factors — high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, obesity, prediabetes, or chronic stress.

If any of those describes you, an annual checkup is not optional health optimization — it is standard preventive medicine, and delaying it is what allows small numbers to become diagnoses.

Choosing between our three assessment tiers

CurAge Santé offers three assessment levels so you can match the depth of the visit to your health goals.

Essential Checkup ($215, 30 min) — the standard annual assessment with vitals, history, baseline blood work prescription, and results review. Ideal if you feel well and simply want a yearly baseline.

Complete Health Assessment ($549, 45 min) — the most comprehensive annual assessment with advanced blood work, a written Health Action Plan, and a dedicated follow-up. Ideal if you have risk factors or want a documented plan.

Precision Longevity Assessment ($849, 60 min) — everything above plus advanced hormone and longevity laboratory testing, a personalized Longevity Report, and priority follow-up.

You can compare tiers in detail on our Health Assessments page or explore all options under our Health Assessments services.

How to prepare for your assessment

Bring a list of current medications and supplements with doses, a summary of any recent blood work or imaging, and your immunization record if available. If you have symptoms you have not mentioned to a clinician — sleep disturbance, mood changes, sexual health concerns, digestive issues — write them down. These are the exact topics an annual visit is designed to open up.

Blood work is generally done after the visit, on a separate morning, fasting for at least 10 hours (water and prescribed medications allowed). This gives us a chance to personalize the requisition to what we actually observed during the exam.

Book your annual checkup

Same-week appointments are typically available at our Pointe-Claire clinic. Choose the tier that fits your goals and book directly on our contact page, or browse the full Health Assessments catalogue.