During his weekly segment on “The Richard Beene Show,” Dr. Raj Patel stressed the importance of annual physicals.

“Overall, annual physical examinations are very beneficial,” said Patel, who also acknowledged there was a debate within the medical community about the benefits of these annual events. “Overall it’s beneficial because it establishes a rapport with your physician.”

Host Richard Beene asked how extensive the annual physical examination should be.

“Annual physical examinations in adults we allocate about 30 minutes,” Patel said. “We do a history. We do a careful physical examination and we assess risk factors of a patient’s lifestyle.”