Here’s a tip for a healthier year: Timely medical screenings can help prevent a number of diseases.

Unfortunately, according to a new report by AARP, the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than one in four adults ages 50 to 64 have recommended health screenings designed to detect and prevent disease.

The good news is changing that is as easy as scheduling a screening and going.

“The current gap in the delivery of preventive services to this age group represents one of the most serious challenges for the health of our nation,” geriatric specialist Dr. William J. Hall, an AARP board member, stated in a news release.

That is why AARP has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create easy-to-use health checklists for men and women over 50.

The checklists give you the latest evidence-based recommendations on how to detect a wide range of conditions that impact older Americans, such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancer; depression; diabetes; high blood pressure and high cholesterol; and obesity.

The checklists also provide a screening test record, a form you can use to keep track of the date and results of your last screening tests, when you should have the test next, and questions you have for your next doctor visit.

AARP also recommends creating a personal medication record, a list of all the medicines you take, including over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements, the doses and how you take them.

While your doctor may have a list of his own, you may be seeing more than one doctor. That’s why, experts say, it can be very important to reduce medication risks and bring your updated personal record to all your appointments and even provide a copy to the pharmacies you use.

To obtain a health checklist, visit:

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For a guide to create a personal medication record, visit:

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