The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages families to keep visiting their primary care provider during the pandemic. This includes adolescents too!

Yearly wellness visits with a primary care physician are an extremely important part of preventative care. Wellness visits help provide a more comprehensive exam than simply a sports physical or a school physical would. It allows physicians to perform lab work that may catch health issues early and lead to earlier referrals to specialists. A person who manages their health issues earlier, could decrease the chance of hospital and emergency department visits in the future. If done properly, yearly wellness visits should also begin including a screening for substance abuse and depression starting at age 12. This allows for proper assessment, medication, and referral to treatment if necessary. This is another part of a yearly wellness visit that is not included in a sports or school physical.

Have you taken your child to have a sports physical or a school physical? While those are good, they are not the same as a wellness visit. Wellness visits are more comprehensive than a sports or school physical. If your child needs a sports physical or a school physical, the paperwork for those can be filled out during a comprehensive wellness exam. This is because all of the things that are included in a school or sports physical are also found in a yearly wellness visit. The wellness visit just includes more components.