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In the world of pediatric care, a well visit is the equivalent of what used to be called a check-up or a physical. Once a year, parents typically make an appointment for a well visit with their family physician or pediatrician to make sure all’s well with their child and to voice any concerns. For children 3 and under, though, visits are as frequent as every few weeks in the newborn period to every 2 to 6 months. Well visits are a must for infants, toddlers, school-age children and teens alike.
Understandably, parents tend to have plenty of questions about what’s involved in a well visit: how to prepare for it, what to bring and what to expect once you get called into the doctor’s office. Let’s review all your FAQs in detail with ĢƵ pediatrician Dr. Corey Wasserman as your guide.
Depending on your child’s age, a well visit may include immunizations, a complete physical examination, a review of your child’s medical history and a conversation regarding any concerns. The visit will typically take from 15 to 30 minutes.
“We can actually accomplish a great deal during that 15 minutes, Dr. Wasserman says. “Mainly, the idea is to check on your child’s vital signs and developmental milestones, and to listen to any concerns you may have. Most of the time, your children are indeed well, not sick, so we start out with that assumption. And if there is reason for concern, you can follow up with a separate appointment to investigate what may be happening with your child’s health.”
First, check in via Connect up to 5 days before your child’s visit to make sure we have your most up-to-date information, including your pharmacy and insurance, along with a list of your child’s medications, if any. You can also review and update your responses to your health questionnaire.
When it comes to blood work and other medical records, instead of uploading them to Connect, it may be preferable to email them to the Medical Records Department at medicalrecords@med.cornell.edu.
On the day of your appointment, please arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time, which will allow you to complete and submit any additional forms beforehand.
As a matter of policy, we require at least one parent or guardian to be present for the duration of the well visit. That will facilitate the best possible communication between provider and parent and allow us to secure your permission for any necessary immunizations.
If you can’t be present, you’ll need to reschedule the appointment.
Please bring:
“Keep in mind that your doctor may not be able to fill out school or camp forms on the day of your appointment. If they have the time to complete the form during your visit, they will do so. But it’s just as likely that the information from your child’s well visit will be entered afterwards and sent to you at a later date,” Dr. Wasserman says.
Your doctor will:
Additionally, your doctor will assess your child based on their age.
Specific issues are considered part of a follow up or “sick” visit. These will be billed to your insurance, and you may be responsible for copayments, coinsurance or deductible payments, based on the terms of your policy.
If you’d like to address non-routine concerns during your child’s annual well visit, let your doctor’s office know about these issues when you schedule your appointment. Depending on their complexity, your doctor may need to deal with them at a later time.
Combining your child’s well visit with a non-routine office visit will save you time by eliminating an extra appointment, but doing so may affect your costs. Your doctor will bill your visit based on the reason you originally gave for scheduling the appointment, plus the specific issues you raised during the appointment. Anything more than a check-up may result in unplanned out-of-pocket costs to you. For these reasons, we recommend that you schedule your child’s annual well visit and any follow-up or sick office visits separately.
To make an appointment with a pediatrician at ĢƵ, go to /services/pediatrics