Many components of an adolescent health supervision visit, in alignment with the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th Edition, can be completed virtually! Some examples of recommended preventive care services for adolescents per the Bright Futures/AAP Periodicity Schedule are provided in the table below. Note: This is not a complete list of all services that can be provided via telehealth.
Services that can be done virtually
- Height, Weight (patient may need equipment)
- Blood Pressure (patient may need equipment)
- Anemia Risk Assessment
- Tuberculosis Risk Assessment
- Fluoride Supplementation
- Developmental Surveillance
- This involves assessing progress on development tasks of adolescents and assessing for risk behaviors. Recognize, utilize, and enhance youths' strengths to promote healthy emotional and physical outcomes by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and providing support needed to build on their unique strengths. (See the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition Promoting Healthy Development health promotion theme for more information.)
- Psychosocial/Behavioral Assessment
- This involves assessing social-emotional regulation, mood and affect, interpersonal skills, school successes, and challenges. (See the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition and the Adolescence Visits chapter for more information.)
- Tobacco, Alcohol, or Drug Use Assessment
- Depression and Suicide Screening
- Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs, including the need for pregnancy testing, emergency contraception, other forms of contraception, barrier protection, or STI screening *
- Anticipatory Guidance related to:
- Physical growth and development
- Social determinants of health (See the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition Promoting Lifelong Health for Families and Communities health promotion theme in the for more information.)
- Emotional well-being
- Risk reduction
- Safety
*Pregnancy tests are not a component of the Bright Futures/AAP Periodicity Schedule but may be necessary for optimal care delivery.
Services that may require in-person follow-up
- Immunizations
- Hearing Screening
- Vision Screening
- Dyslipidemia Risk Assessment/Screening
- STI/HIV/HCV Screening
- Blood Tests
- Cervical Dysplasia Screening (Universal screening at age 21)
*Pregnancy tests are not a component of the Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care (Periodicity Schedule) but may be necessary for optimal care delivery.
Telehealth can also be used for providing services outside of the annual health supervision visit, including:
- To assess recovery after an acute care visit
- To follow-up on a visit to the emergency room or urgent care
- Follow-up visits for mental health concerns [like depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)]
- Support and guidance for coping with emotional challenges such as grief, breakups, and bullying
- Monitoring medications for mental health concerns
- Follow-up visits for chronic or ongoing conditions, like allergies, asthma, diabetes, headaches, and weight management
- Reproductive and sexual health care maintenance, including birth control refills and monitoring side effects
- Provision of emergency contraception
- Management of adolescents with eating disorders to discuss diet and any concerning behaviors
- Identification of some skin and eye conditions, including acne, conjunctivitis, and rashes
- Note: Adolescents may be able to send high-quality images through the patient portal. The photo may be imported into the visit note.
- Follow-up post-discharge from the hospital
- Joint health care transition visit with pediatric and adult clinicians in advance of the adolescent’s initial adult health care visit
Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration. The Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th Edition, provides theory-based and evidence-driven guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits. Bright Futures content can be incorporated into many public health programs such as home visiting, child care, school-based health clinics, and many others. Materials developed especially for families are also available. Learn more about Bright Futures and get Bright Futures materials by visiting brightfutures.aap.org.
Funding Acknowledgements
Supporting Providers and Families to Access Telehealth and Distant Care Services for Pediatric Care
This resource is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $6,000,000 with no percentage financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Bright Futures National Center
This resource is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $5,000,000 with 10 percent financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the US Government.
For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
Last Updated
08/27/2021
Source
American Academy of Pediatrics