Well baby visits: screening and health promotion

Traditional child care consists of periodic health examinations and treatment for episodic illness. It is important to ensure that prevention, detection and early treatment of developmental problems are always done, especially in children with frequent illnesses. Educational and psychosocial factors, nutrition and physical assessment must also be stressed to promote child and family health. The authors have developed flow sheets for screening visits at age two weeks to two years, to check growth, nutrition, education, parenting, behavior, development, symptoms, examination procedures, and assessment. The sheets are a memory and charting aid in a busy office, allow other office staff to participate, and can be modified to suit the practice and the patient.