American Academy of Pediatrics Releases 2021 Bright Futures/AAP Periodicity Schedule for Preventive Pediatric Health Care

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released its 2021 Bright Futures/AAP recommendations for preventive pediatric health care, also known as the Periodicity Schedule, that describes the screenings and assessments recommended at each well-child visit from infancy through adolescence. A policy statement, “2021 Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care,” describing updates will be published in the March 2021 Pediatrics (published Feb. 16 online). The 2021 Periodicity Schedule includes the addition of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection screening recommendation, which aligns with recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The policy statement observes that, “these recommendations are designed for the care of children who are generally healthy and are growing and developing in a satisfactory fashion. Developmental, psychosocial, and chronic disease issues for children and adolescents may require frequent counseling and treatment visits separate from preventive care visits.”

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.