Routine pediatric wellness visits allow you and your child to establish a working relationship with your pediatrician and allow him or her to find and prevent potential health problems. These visits also give healthcare providers an opportunity to properly vaccinate babies and young children.
Routine pediatric wellness exams and vaccinations are typically covered as preventive medicine. This means that you might not have to pay out-of-pocket for these services. Here’s some information about what these wellness exams and immunizations involve.
Wellness visits
Each visit will include a complete physical examination, where your healthcare provider will record your child’s height, weight, and any other important information. Screening tests such as hearing, vision, and reflex testing will also be included in most visits. These visits are important to attend even if your child is healthy because it allows you and your doctor to focus on their overall wellness. Many healthcare providers recommend preventive care as the best way to maintain child health and prevent longer-term issues.
In your child’s first few visits, you can expect to speak at length with your doctor about whether or not your little one is meeting normal developmental milestones, such as reaching for objects, smiling, and reacting to loud noises.
In the first visit, which should be 2-4 days after you return home from the hospital, your healthcare provider will create a growth chart for your child. In this, he or she will record height, weight, and head circumference to create your child’s first medical record. Remember that no question is too simple during these visits — your provider is there to support you and your child during this new and often difficult time.
During later visits, your healthcare provider will discuss other wellness-related topics with you, such as school, family relationship issues, and access to community services. He or she will also mention important indexes such as the body mass index, which is an important tool for identifying and preventing obesity.
To learn more about your benefits, please contact Luminare Health by calling the number at the top of your ID card. Select the button below to visit Luminare’s portal.
