The Power of Prevention: Why Annual Visits Aren’t Enough
Dr. Ariel Brooks explains why annual exams alone aren’t enough—and how personalized, data-driven preventive care changes the trajectory of long-term health.
Last updated November 2025
For many people, staying healthy seems simple: schedule an annual checkup, get a few labs drawn, and wait for the “everything looks fine” message. It’s a familiar routine, one that offers reassurance for the moment but rarely gives a deeper understanding of your health.
Yet, for all its good intentions, the traditional annual physical has limits. It can tell you whether you’re currently healthy, but not necessarily whether you’re staying healthy. It can miss subtle changes in metabolism, hormones, or inflammation that predict future illness long before symptoms appear.
At Asklia Concierge & Metabolic Medicine in Cave Spring, VA, Dr. Ariel Brooks believes prevention is more than a once-a-year checkbox; it’s an ongoing partnership between patient and physician. By taking a proactive, data-driven, and personalized approach to health, she helps patients identify risks early and build strategies that protect their long-term well-being.
The Limits of the Traditional Annual Exam
Traditional medicine is built on a system of reactivity: you come in when you’re sick or once a year for a brief exam. In most settings, annual visits last about 15 minutes and follow a predictable pattern: vitals, quick conversation, basic labs, and a “see you next year.”
While these visits can catch obvious concerns, they don’t leave much time for deeper exploration. Important questions often go unasked:
How has your metabolism changed over the past year?
Is inflammation quietly impacting your long-term health?
What do your genetics and lifestyle suggest about future risk?
These aren’t questions that fit neatly into a short, insurance-driven appointment. They require time, context, and testing that looks beyond standard panels.
That’s why so many people who “feel healthy” are later surprised by a diagnosis of prediabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension. Early signs of metabolic dysfunction or hormone imbalance can often exist long before symptoms appear on a traditional checklist.
What True Prevention Looks Like
Prevention is more than screening for disease; it’s about understanding your body’s unique patterns and vulnerabilities so you can make changes before problems develop.
At Asklia, prevention starts with connection. Dr. Brooks builds ongoing relationships with each patient, focusing on education, advanced testing, and follow-ups that empower people to take ownership of their health.
Her approach includes:
1. Comprehensive assessments
Instead of the basic labs often ordered at an annual visit, Dr. Brooks uses advanced testing to evaluate metabolic health, hormone balance, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk. These tests uncover early signs of insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, or nutritional deficiencies that traditional exams often miss.
2. Metabolic and hormonal insight
Midlife is a time of transition, especially for women, and metabolism doesn’t stay static. Through her expertise in internal medicine, obesity medicine, and menopause care, Dr. Brooks helps patients connect symptoms like fatigue, weight changes, or mood shifts to their underlying physiology.
3. Ongoing data and follow-up
Prevention isn’t a one-time event. Asklia patients benefit from frequent follow-ups and the ability to contact Dr. Brooks directly throughout the year. This continuity allows for small, timely adjustments rather than waiting twelve months for the next visit.
4. Personalized action plans
Every patient receives a care plan tailored to their unique risk factors and goals. Whether it’s optimizing nutrition, balancing hormones, improving sleep, or addressing stress, the focus is on sustainable, meaningful progress, not quick fixes.
Why “Checklist Care” Falls Short
Traditional healthcare often rewards efficiency over depth. Physicians are expected to manage thousands of patients, leaving little time for personalized prevention. As a result, annual visits become transactions rather than relationships.
This “checklist care” approach assumes that if your labs and vitals are within normal limits, you’re fine. But “normal” doesn’t always mean optimal. For example:
You can have normal fasting blood sugar but still show signs of early insulin resistance.
You can have normal thyroid hormone levels but still experience fatigue or weight changes due to conversion issues.
You can have normal cholesterol but elevated inflammation that predicts future heart disease.
These nuances matter especially if your goal is not just to avoid illness but to thrive.
Dr. Brooks founded Asklia to move beyond the limitations of that model. By keeping her practice intentionally small, she’s able to focus on depth instead of volume. That means every patient receives the time, testing, and follow-up needed to prevent disease rather than simply react to it.
The Preventive Advantage of Concierge Medicine
Concierge medicine redefines how healthcare can work. Instead of waiting for symptoms to appear, you and your doctor collaborate to build long-term resilience.
At Asklia Concierge & Metabolic Medicine, members benefit from:
Longer visits that allow for real conversation and problem-solving.
Same- or next-day appointments for urgent needs.
Direct access to Dr. Brooks through text, phone, or video.
Proactive outreach to review labs, follow up on goals, and adjust care as needed.
This model creates a feedback loop of awareness and action. It transforms prevention from an annual appointment into a continuous process, one that evolves as your body and life do.
Dr. Brooks combines evidence-based medicine with advanced technology and personal attention, helping patients make sense of their data and turn it into meaningful daily habits.
Taking Ownership of Your Health
You don’t need to wait for something to go wrong to start caring deeply about your health. Prevention is most potent when it begins early and continues consistently. It’s about understanding your numbers, your patterns, and your unique needs, and having a trusted partner to guide you every step of the way.
At Asklia, Dr. Brooks empowers her patients to think beyond the annual exam. By addressing risk factors early and tailoring care to each individual, she helps people protect their energy, longevity, and quality of life.
If you’ve ever left a physical feeling like you didn’t learn much about your body, or you’re ready for a more comprehensive, proactive approach to wellness, consider what concierge preventive care can offer.
Visit askliamedicine.com or call 540-410-9275 to learn how Asklia Concierge & Metabolic Medicine is redefining preventive care for the Roanoke and Cave Spring communities.
True prevention isn’t about checking a box once a year. It’s about building a relationship with your health and having a physician who’s fully invested in it, too.
