How Should You Prepare for a Well-Child Visit? If you have more than one issue to cover, book a second appointment or talk to your doctor’s office about whether they can combine appointments and adjust the coding. Keep in mind that these free visits can only cover preventative care, so if you try to combine other problems like a prescription renewal or treatment for a sudden or ongoing illness, you might get a bill in the mail. This means there are no charges as long as your well-child visit is with a doctor or service provider in your network. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance plans to cover well-child visits - without requiring a copay or coinsurance, even if you haven’t met your deductible for the year. Are Well-Child Visits Covered by Insurance?

These appointments also screen for sex and discuss healthy sex behaviors. Taking your teenager to well-child visits can help them learn about health and how to build responsibility for their personal habits. Your doctor will conduct more in-depth vision tests, which should be done every year. Don’t skip your appointments though, even if your children seem healthy. Once a year until the child reaches 21 yearsĪs your child gets older, they don’t need vaccines as often as they did in early childhood.These are also important for monitoring your health as a new parent and are a good time to talk about postpartum depression or anxiety.Ī typical schedule includes well-child checks at ages: The first one is scheduled within a few days of birth and then repeats regularly to monitor growth. Your child grows quickly in the first two years of life, so you’ll have more well-child visits during this time. How Often Should a Child Have a Well-Child Visit? Getting these vaccines prevents serious disease. These will vary by age but typically include measles, whooping cough, polio, and others. Vaccines. Well-child visits include getting childhood vaccines. Your doctor will ask questions about how they’re reaching these milestones and about their social and learning behaviors. As your child grows, they reach milestones around certain ages and learn skills like rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, following instructions, and much more. They might also ask about how often they’re eating, especially right after birth.ĭevelopment. Press on your child’s tummy to feel organsĭuring well-baby visits, your doctor might also check your baby’s genitals and ask about how many wet and dirty diapers your baby has a day.Look at your child’s eyes, ears, and throat.This shows if your child is on track and whether they’re growing proportionately.ĭuring a physical exam, your doctor will also: These numbers are often put on a growth chart to measure your child’s weight and height for their age against other kids in the same age group. Your doctor will weigh and measure your child to calculate body mass index, or BMI. What Is Included in a Well-Child Visit?Īt each well-child visit, your doctor will conduct a physical examination, ask about development and milestones, and administer vaccines.

These visits start right after birth and continue until your child turns 18-20 years old. You can have a well visit with your primary care doctor or with a doctor who specializes in children’s health. What Is a Well Visit?Ī well visit, or well-child visit, is a preventative health appointment with your child’s doctor.

Here’s what to know about a well-child visit. Well visits are key to child health and pediatric medicine.

Newborn dr appointments