Preventive Care

Preventive care is a risk-based sequence, not a fixed catalogue of tests. First decide whether the person is asymptomatic and at average risk. Symptoms, a previous abnormal result, a relevant personal history, or a strong family or genetic history usually moves the person into diagnostic or high-risk surveillance care, where the test and interval change. Canadian practice has two linked layers. National organizations develop evidence-based recommendations, while provinces and territories fund and operate organized programs. The provincial or territorial pathway therefore determines what a patient can actually access, including the starting age, interval, test, referral route, and follow-up process. The former Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care was paused in March 2025 after external review, and the national guideline system was subsequently renewed with a National Advisory Committee on Preventive Health Services. [1,2] For an NP, the practical question is not simply whether a test exists. It is whether this patient is in the correct prevention pathway, whether the benefit is likely to outweigh harm, and what result will trigger the next action.