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Featured Story 2 July 2019

Don't Pay For A Sports Physical

Written by Sagan Wheeler

At Ivinson Medical Group, we have a team of providers who are here to help make sure your child is ready to compete in the upcoming sports season.

As summer continues to move at warped speed, many parents are beginning to think about sports physicals for their children who plan to play sports this upcoming school year.

At Ivinson Medical Group, we have a team of providers in our Pediatric and Family Care Clinic who are here to help make sure your child is ready to compete! 

We recently sat down with Dr. Kelly Follett, a Pediatrician at Ivinson Medical Group to discuss the options parents and children have for completing annual sports physicals. 

While a sports physical has one function, to clear children and teenagers to play organized sports, a comprehensive well-visit offers the sports physical along with many other benefits. During a well-child visit, we are able to answer numerous questions parents may have regarding concerns about their child that may include sleeping issues, normal development, problems he/​she is having in school, etc.,” said Follett. We are able to follow up on any medical problems a child may have, including medication refills. We are also able to provide immunizations at this visit and do any screening labs that might be recommended.”

Annual well-visits aren’t just for babies and children! For our teenagers, we also screen for depression and discuss things like substance use and other topics that are specific to teenager development. Being able to address all of these topics on a yearly basis during a comprehensive well-child visit is critical for promoting good health in our preteen/​teenage population,” Dr. Follett explained.

When preparing your child or teenager for the school year and sports seasons, consider a comprehensive well-child visit over a stand-along sports physical. A child should absolutely get a comprehensive well-child visit because we can cover all the issues listed above and we will also fill out the sports physical form at the same visit,” encouraged Follett. 

The Pediatric and Family Care Clinic at Ivinson Medical Group has three physicians and a Nurse Practitioner, all of whom offer well-child visits. There is no need to wait to see one of our providers with appointment availability within a day or two from scheduling. An annual well visit is covered in full under most major medical insurance providers. For questions or to schedule your child’s appointment, call our Ivinson Medical Group at (307) 7554540.