As the new school year begins, it’s a great time to remind families about the importance of back-to-school health visits. Well-Child Visits and Sports Physicals play a vital role in ensuring children and adolescents are healthy, up to date on immunizations, and ready to participate in extracurricular activities. Providers’ proactive engagement with CenCal Health families helps set the foundation for a successful and healthy school year!
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Bright Futures® Periodicity Schedule recommends a Well-Child Visit annually for children after age 3. This annual visit is essential for tracking and monitoring growth and milestones, staying up to date on immunizations, and identifying early health concerns. It is especially important to ensure that children are vaccinated against communicable diseases, such as influenza, ahead of the new school year.
Did you know that a sports physical counts towards a Well-Child Visit? The AAP recommends that all middle-school through college-age children receive an annual sports physical whether or not one is required for them to participate in an extracurricular activity.
Sports physicals present an opportunity to review the patient’s upcoming and necessary immunizations and screenings, as well as identify and treat medical and bone/joint problems commonly seen in youth who play sports. The AAP recommends making appointments at least 6-8 weeks before starting a sports season to give time for any additional evaluation or new treatments.
Best Practices
- Identify children due for their annual Well-Child Visit by utilizing the Gaps in Care Reports located on the Provider Portal, accessible here: https://web.cencalhealth.org/
- When billing for a sport physical, use CPT 99383-99385, 99393-99395 and include the diagnosis code Z02.5 (encounter for examination for participation in a sport).
- Create a system to check preventive health visits and immunization status ahead of all visits to ensure the patient is up to date.
- Ensure that full immunization history is documented in the patient’s chart and bill accordingly.
- Engage parents/guardians on the importance of preventive health by providing printed health education materials.
References
For more information about sports physicals by the American Academy of Pediatrics, please visit: https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/preparticipation-physical-evaluation/
For member health education materials, please visit: https://www.cencalhealth.org/providers/patient-education-materials/
For more information on QCIP, please visit: https://www.cencalhealth.org/providers/quality-of-care/quality-care-incentive-program/
For additional questions, contact the Population Health team at: qcip@cencalhealth.org