Georgia Families Blog

November 16, 2009: Health Check visits

Keeping kids healthy is an important goal for Georgia Families.

We know how busy you can be juggling family schedules, but it's important to make time for your children's health.

Children who are Medicaid members or in PeachCare for Kids should get regular checkups called Health Check visits. Regular checkups from birth through age 18 will help your healthy kids grow up to be healthy adults.

With regular Health Check visits, the doctor and people who work in the doctor's office will get to know your children and their health care needs. The doctor can identify any problems early on. The doctor can also answer your questions about how your children are growing, what they should be eating and how they are feeling day to day. When your children are teens, the doctor can talk with them about exercise, good sleep habits, drugs and alcohol, and HIV/AIDS.

At each Health Check visit, the doctor will check your child's eyes and hearing, height and weight, and teeth and gums, to ensure that the child is growing in healthy ways. The doctor will also give your child shots for immunization, do physical exams that are required for school, and run routine lab tests that check for hard to find illnesses.

You can get on a Health Check schedule by calling your health plan and you can make appointments with your children's doctor. Let the doctor's office know you want to get regular checkups for your kids from birth through adulthood. You can find the phone number for the plan on the back of your health plan card.

Do you have ideas for more blogs? Let us know! Email us at blog@georgia-families.com. Remember that email is not private. Do not send email with personal information in it.

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