\n A yearly physical is the standard preventive measure for adults, but many Gen Z patients are forgoing regular doctor appointments.\n <\/p>\n
\n More than 1 in 4 young adults don\u2019t have a primary care provider, according to a recent national survey<\/a> by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.\n <\/p>\n \n For Gen Zers who do have a physician, most skip scheduled checkups or don\u2019t schedule them: Only 47% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they have had an annual wellness visit in the past year, according to the survey findings, released June 29.\n <\/p>\n \n Skipping doctor visits in early adulthood could have severe consequences, experts say, noting that missed prevention opportunities earlier in life can lead to greater chances of developing later-in-life diseases and conditions. In recent years, colorectal cancer rates<\/a> have skyrocketed in younger adults, becoming the leading cause of cancer deaths for people younger than 50.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAn annual visit isn\u2019t just about today\u2019s health \u2014 it helps identify future risks, keeps preventive care on schedule and gives you a trusted clinician who knows your medical history and can help navigate health concerns, be they physical health or mental health concerns, as they arise,\u201d said CNN wellness contributor Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and clinical associate professor at George Washington University, in an email to CNN. Wen was not involved in the study.\n <\/p>\n \n The poll queried 1,006 respondents across several age groups about their medical habits. Out of all the age groups, older adults were most likely to have a primary care doctor, with 97% of respondents age 65 and older saying they had a regular provider compared with 71% of younger adults.\n <\/p>\n \n Many Gen Zers instead turn to their local urgent care clinic for non-emergency-related health issues, with 36% looking first to an immediate care facility, the survey found. However, the doctor-patient relationship is essential to staying healthy.\n <\/p>\n \n There are lost opportunities \u201cto build a relationship of trust with somebody who can potentially keep you out of the emergency room or help support you in ways that help maintain your health over the long-term,\u201d said Dr. Russell Phillips, senior adviser on innovation in the primary care division of general medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Phillips was not involved in the survey.\n <\/p>\n \n Younger adults may be less worried about health risks than older generations, since they are generally less likely to develop age-associated diseases such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders.\n <\/p>\n \n But that doesn\u2019t mean Gen Z and millennials aren\u2019t at risk of developing severe diseases earlier in life.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe lowered the age for routine colon cancer screening for everybody from 50 to 45, but that age can be even lower if our family history is more complex,\u201d said family medicine physician Dr. Zachary Bittinger, a clinical assistant professor at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center who was not directly involved with the survey.\n <\/p>\n \n If the first doctor you see isn\u2019t a good match, experts say that it\u2019s perfectly acceptable to keep searching until you find one that you\u2019re comfortable with.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf we have an initial visit or two with somebody, and we\u2019re still just not quite sure that you\u2019re speaking the same language as your doctor \u2026 it\u2019s OK to see somebody new,\u201d Bittinger said. \u201cThat might be also where we take some opinions from trusted family members, friends or people that know us well to make sure that \u2026 our relationship is right.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For Olivia Hall, finding a physician she could trust and rely on has been no easy task. Over the course of six years, Hall, a 27-year-old living in Las Vegas, has seen seven primary care providers. Doctors often dismissed her high heart rate as a symptom of stress. Later on, a specialist finally diagnosed her with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a blood circulation disorder also known as POTS.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI find especially in the community that I\u2019ve built around chronic illness and people in their 20s and 30s that are getting these syndromes and not getting diagnosed is they had similar experiences to mine,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThey get dismissed so many times that they start to believe themselves that it\u2019s not real, or that they\u2019re making it worse than it actually is.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n After Hall advocated for herself, a primary care provider referred her to a specialist who helped validate her concerns.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cA trusted doctor who truly listens and helps make steps can save people years of hardship, self-doubt,\u201d Hall said.\n <\/p>\n \n Rural areas and overcrowded cities are especially stretched thin when it comes to accessing affordable and quality healthcare.\n <\/p>\n \n The survey\u2019s findings are \u201cconsistent with results from other studies about young adults being less likely to have a primary care doctor,\u201d said Phillips, founding director of the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAccess is getting increasingly difficult for primary care,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n Healthcare staffing challenges will likely worsen, according to a 2025 US Health Resources and Services Administration<\/a> projection, with the agency predicting a shortage of 70,610 primary care doctors by 2038.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe just don\u2019t have enough primary care physicians,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to find one who is taking new patients into their practice.\u201d For people who already have a primary care physician, \u201csometimes getting appointments can be challenging.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Rising healthcare costs can also have some Gen Zers debating whether medical appointments are worth the expense.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYoung adults might be more wary of incurring those bills or are accessing care when they\u2019re not sure of how their insurance might cover it,\u201d Bittinger said.\n <\/p>\n