Georgetown Pediatrics believes that having a medical home where a family can go to be welcomed, listened to and taken care of in a compassionate manner is important. It is at your medical home where your child’s physician can spend time addressing all of your concerns and perform a comprehensive medical exam. This experience cannot be replicated by a physical exam performed at a school or in a retail pharmacy.
The form is due, what do you do? We’ve all been there. Paperwork piles up, and sports physicals sneak up on us just before our children’s sport and activity begins.
To make life easier (and what parent wouldn’t like that), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends asking to have a sports physical when scheduling your child’s next routine well-child visit.
Why see the pediatrician for a sports physical:
Seeing your pediatrician for routine well-child visits and sports physicals helps keep your child’s medical records and health history up to date. Pediatricians are also trained to identify and treat both medical and bone/joint problems that are commonly seen in children and adolescents who play sports. And they can ensure your child is caught up on immunizations and discuss any concerns in a confidential setting. If your child is not as active as they should be, they counsel on the benefits of physical activity.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends making appointments at least 6-8 weeks before starting a season to give time for any additional evaluation or new treatments.
As your child’s primary care provider, we have knowledge of your child through being a partner with you by caring for them throughout their childhood. Georgetown Pediatrics knows your child’s social situation, their activities, their hopes and dreams for their future as well as their medical history. We can review their immunizations and provide education and administration of these vaccines, if required. We can assess and obtain needed laboratory, vision and hearing screening. We can also provide refills of medications and referrals to specialists.
Georgetown Pediatrics can provide all of these services and fill out your child’s sports physical forms for school. In addition, as long as we have a well-child checkup on file in the last year, you can drop off your child’s sports physical form and we will complete it for you without an additional visit to our office!
What is a Wellness Check?
Your Annual Wellness Check (sometimes also referred to as an Annual Wellness Visits, Well Child Check, Yearly Check Up, Wellness Exam, etc.) is a yearly appointment with your primary care provider. Most insurance covers an Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) at no cost to you, in fact many plans also provide you rewards or premium discounts if you complete an AWV. A child’s AWV encompasses the school required Sports Physical and much more, and is also usually 100% covered by insurance.
The focus of an Annual Wellness Visit is promoting wellness while identifying and addressing risks to prevent illness or injury.
This includes:
- A health screening discussion
- A risk review – General health counseling
- A physical exam
- Appropriate screening labs
- Reviewing and updating vaccinations
- Counseling on diet and exercise.
- Mental health evaluation (depression, anxiety, etc)
- Concussions and previous injuries review
- Unique concerns of female athletes (menstrual health, bone health, and nutrition/calorie intake, etc)
- Unique concerns of disabled athletes
Wellness Check or Sports Physical?
A Sports Physical is not the same as your child’s Annual Wellness Check. A Sports Physical determines if it’s safe for a child or teen to participate in sports and is a limited review of your child’s well-being as it relates to involvement in sports. An Annual Wellness Check is a complete exam which focuses on a child’s or teen’s overall physical and mental health, wellness and development.
Most insurances cover your Child’s Annual Wellness Check (AWC) at no cost to you while Sports Physicals generally cost about $50. We can review your child’s immunizations, provide refills of medications, referrals to specialists, and assess and obtain needed laboratory, vision, and hearing screenings. During a Wellness Check, we can provide all of these services and fill out your child’s sports physical forms for school.
For more information or to schedule your child’s wellness check, go to: georgetownpedi.com
