What Is and Is Not Included in a Well Visit?
by Neighborhood Naturopathic & Primary Care team
Wellness visits are an essential part of your care, for all ages! These visits are approached from a space of education, care, and allowing you to choose what is the best for you or your child’s body, with zero pressure from our providers.
Wellness Visits are recommended at regularly intervals for children and annually for adults to discuss and perform any necessary screening exams.
When are these exams recommended and what is included?
For adults. We recommend yearly preventative exams for all adults over the age of 18.
Your ADULT preventative visit includes
A comprehensive physical exam which may include pelvic/genital exams and/or chest/breast exams
Advice for developing a healthy lifestyle
May include a discussion of the following: medical history, nutrition, sleep habits, physical activity, risks to health and safety, immunization update, preventative health recommendations, mental and emotional health, and avoiding drugs and alcohol
Any necessary bloodwork and/or referral for screening exams depending on your age and most up to date guidance such as referral for mammography, bone density scans, colonoscopy, etc.
The focus of these visits are screening and prevention, and are therefore limited to these conversations.
For children, wellness visits are recommended with the following frequency:
Newborn visit done on ~Day 3 or at 2 weeks depending on if you are doing home visits with a midwife.
2 weeks
1 month
2 months
4 months
6 months
9 months
12 months
15 months
18 months
2 years
2.5 years
Annually starting at the age of 3
Please note: all well-child visits should be scheduled on or after the date that your child has reached the listed age range during the 0-36 month time period and on or after their birthday once they are 3+ years of age.
Your PEDIATRIC preventative visit includes
A comprehensive physical exam tailored at evaluating health growth and development
Advice for developing a healthy lifestyle
May include a discussion of the following: medical history, growth, nutrition, sleep habits, physical development, physical activity, social development and activity, cognitive development and academics, risks to health and safety, immunization update, preventative health recommendations, mental and emotional health, peer pressure and avoiding drugs and alcohol
The focus of these visits are screening and prevention, and are therefore limited to these conversations.
What is NOT included in a wellness visit?
Annual visits or Wellness visits are typically billed as a “Preventative Care” visit, which is generally covered (once per year) at 100% off the cost by insurance companies. However, these “preventative office visits” are just that - they are ONLY meant to cover any screening for which you are due (ie, labs, blood pressure checks, mammograms or Pap smears, etc) and do NOT cover services provided outside of this basic screening set by the USPSTF, among others, (ie, managing specific medical conditions, addressing new concerns, etc). If you hope to cover all your screening AND discuss specific health concerns, you should expect to see billing for both a “Preventative care” visit AND additional codes to cover the cost of any additional medical care outside of the “screening” scope.
If you have new or ongoing health needs, questions, or concerns, please ensure you schedule a separate appointment for these
Have additional questions about visit types and/or insurance coverage?
Check our our FAQ: Visit Types, Insurance and Fees Page, and/or contact our office.
Ready to schedule your annual visit or wellness exam? Schedule here!
See you in clinic!
Neighborhood Naturopathic and Primary Care team