The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Bright Futures initiative provide essential Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care, often referred to as the “Periodicity Schedule.” This schedule is a structured guide for screenings and assessments during well-child visits, from infancy through adolescence, ensuring comprehensive care for children.
These recommendations are designed with the understanding that each child and family is unique. They are tailored for children receiving supportive parenting and exhibiting healthy growth and development. It’s important to note that additional visits might be necessary to address specific health concerns. Issues related to development, psychosocial well-being, and chronic diseases may require separate, more frequent counseling and treatment sessions in addition to preventive care visits.
Bright Futures and the AAP emphasize the critical role of consistent care in comprehensive health supervision, advocating against fragmented care approaches. For detailed guidance specific to each age group, the Bright Futures Guidelines (4th Edition, 2017) serve as an invaluable resource.
A key component of preventive care is appropriate coding. Accurate coding ensures proper documentation and billing for the services provided during preventive care visits. For detailed information on implementation and coding for each visit on the Periodicity Schedule, the AAP offers the “Bright Futures and Preventive Medicine Coding Fact Sheet.” This resource is crucial for healthcare providers to correctly apply the 2017 coding standards for pediatric preventive care.
Within selected visits, Bright Futures advocates for universal screenings addressing areas such as child development, maternal and adolescent depression, behavioral, social, and emotional health, and oral health. Various screening tools are available to assist healthcare professionals in these assessments.
To further explore the evidence and rationale behind these recommendations, the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition, Evidence and Rationale chapter provides comprehensive background information. Utilizing these resources ensures healthcare professionals are well-equipped to deliver and code for high-quality pediatric preventive care in line with the 2017 guidelines.
