Category Archives: clinics

Sports physicals – it’s time

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Your kids are on the move – literally, and all the time! If they are involved in a fall sport at school, then it’s time for their sports physical. Don’t forget that there is tremendous benefit to getting these physicals at your child’s pediatric office, rather than at a clinic or a school-sponsored physical day. The pediatrician has all your records including vaccinations, allergies, and your individualized and family medical history. He or she can discuss important sports information with you, including nutrition. And, of course, follow-up is always readily available, whether one week or six months from now. We are delighted to be working, with you as our partner, to make a medical home for your family here with us. If your child has a physical at a clinic or the school, that physical is not a part of our records, and we end up with an incomplete picture of his or her development and needs. Read our previous blog post for more reasons on why it’s wise to bring your child to the pediatrician when it’s time for a physical.

© MBS Writing Services, 2015, all rights reserved

Patient-centered Medical Home, Part 2: Your Part

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Remember that you will get the most from your PCMH, Georgetown Pediatrics, if you participate with the team.

What your PCMH team should do:

  • Learn about your child.
    • Get to know your family, your child, your life situation, and preferences.  Remember these details about you every time you seek care for your child and suggest treatments that work for YOUR CHILD.
    • Treat you and your child as a full team member in your child’s care.
  • Communicate with you and your child.
    • Give you time to ask questions and answer them in a way you understand.
    • Make sure you know and understand all of your options for your child’s care.
    • Help you decide what care is best for your child.  Sometimes more care is not better care.
    • Ask your feedback about your child’s experience getting care.
  • Support you in caring for your child.
    • Make sure you leave the office with a clear idea of how to care for your child.
    • Help you set goals for your child’s care and help your child meet those goals one step at a time.
    • Give you information about classes, support groups, or other types of services to help you learn more about your child’s condition and keep them healthy.

What you can do.

  • Learn about caring for your child.
    • Know that you are a full team member in your child’s care.
    • Learn about your child’s condition and what you can do to help them stay as healthy as possible.
    • As best you can, follow the plan that you, your child, and your PCMH team have agreed is important for your child’s health.  If you have questions, ask!
  • Communicate with your child’s PCMH care team.
    • Always bring a list of questions to each of your child’s appointments.  Also, bring a list of any medicines, vitamins, or remedies your child uses.
    • Always tell your child’s PCMH team when you don’t understand something they said.  Ask them to explain it in a different way.
    • Always tell your child’s PCMH team if your child gets care from other health care professionals, so they can help coordinate the best care possible.
    • Always talk openly with your child’s PCMH team about you and your child’s experience and getting care from the medical home so they can make care better.

 

Together, you and we will make Georgetown Pediatrics the medical practice that works best for your family.

Back to school ALREADY???

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It seems as though summer just started, and we’re already talking about going back to school.  That’s because now is the right time to be thinking about getting your child’s medical exams and immunizations covered.

Exams and physicals.  Most sports (both school and community) will require that your child or teen have an annual physical.  You’ll see ads for retail clinics in stores and also physicals being held at the schools, but keep these things in mind:

  • Those places don’t have your child’s medical records.  Medical and immunization histories aren’t available to the person doing the physical or administering the immunizations.
  • They haven’t developed a relationship with you to know what is normal and appropriate for your family.
  • Follow up is minimal or altogether unavailable.
  • No nutritional counseling is available, which we believe to be extremely important.

For all those reasons and more, we highly recommend that you see your own pediatrician for back-to-school exams and immunizations.  (Check out our 2013 blog on store-based clinics here.)

          Immunizations.  Many immunizations are required by the state, and there are some additional ones recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  For example, Kentucky requires the meningitis vaccine for the 6th grade; we also are doing a booster at the age of 16 which isn’t state required but is recommended by both the CDC and AAP.  A printable immunization schedule for parents is available here from the CDC.

Concerned about immunizations?  Read the article, “Why Immunize?” at the CDC website.  Also, find here a series of articles from the AAP about a variety of immunizations.

Plan to arrange your pediatric appointments soon, so your teens and children will have everything they need before school starts.

In between your summer travel plans, pool days and sporting events, don’t forget to make room for health.

© 2014, MBS Writing Services, all rights reserved

Should you use a medical clinic in a store?

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The key to providing the best possible care for your child is to provide a medical home where there is a continuity of care.  It seems that you can hardly open a newspaper or turn on your radio without hearing about retail-based clinics (RBCs), also called convenient care clinics.  They are often found in supermarkets, pharmacies, and other retail locations.  They pride themselves on getting patients in, making a quick diagnosis, and getting patients out the door with medications in hand.  You should know that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has some concerns.

 

  • The AAP has taken a strong stand against RBCs, stating that it “opposes retail-based clinics as an appropriate source of medical care for infants, children and adolescents and strongly discourages their use.” *
  • The AAP supports a model of care called the medical home, which provides accessible, family-centered, comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective care for which the pediatrician and family share responsibility.**
  •  Retail-based clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners or physician assistants with no physician on site to help these providers.
  •  No one reviews these clinics for compliance and quality issues the way that our office is reviewed.

There is no such thing as a “minor illness” when it comes to children.  We use these “minor illness” visits to identify other, potentially more serious issues.  We also use this time with you to stay current on the events in your family’s and your child’s life.

Getting routine care for your child should be done by your pediatrician who knows you and your family.

Our office is working to ensure that we meet your needs while also being the medical home.  We are open 7 days a week and can accommodate same-day “illness” appointments in most situations.  You can be sure you will get the highest quality care from us, in a way that works for you and your family.

 

REFERENCES

  • *American Academy of Pediatrics, Retail-Based Clinic Policy Work Group.  AAP principles concerning retail-based clinics.  Pediatrics, 2006;118:2561-2562
  • ** American Academy of Pediatrics, Medical Home Initiatives for Children With Special Needs Project Advisory Committee.  The medical home.  Pediatrics. 2002;110:184-186
    Artwork by Molly

    Artwork by Molly

 

© 2013, Georgetown Pediatrics, all rights reserved.