Child Health
Bright Futures
Bright Futures Preventive Services: Coding Guidelines
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released Achieving Bright Futures Preventive Services Coding Guidelines to provide guidance to insurers, regulators, lawmakers, and other pediatric health care stakeholders regarding the new Affordable Care Act Pediatric Preventive Services Provision.
Bright Futures
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents 4th Edition periodicity schedule, Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care is the basis for Georgia Medicaid’s Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis, & Treatment (EPSDT). For additional resources regarding Bright Futures click here. The AAP encourages practices to review the schedule against their practice protocols.
If you would like an in-office presentation on Bright Futures for you and your office staff, please contact Fozia Khan Eskew at the Chapter office via email at feskew@gaaap.org or via phone at 404-881-5074.
AAP Resources
Performing Preventive Services: A Bright Futures Handbook
This AAP Handbook is a companion piece to Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition. The AAP notes that this handbook can be used in the pediatric practice and as a teaching tool for medical students, residents, and all health professionals who provide well child care. Click here to view the 5 main sections of the handbook which are each downloadable in PDF format.
Children 1st
Pediatrician’s Guide to Public Health Programs for Children
This brief guide will help you navigate through a variety of programs offered through the Georgia Department of Public Health that may benefit your patients. If you have questions about this guide, please contact Fozia Khan Eskew, at the Chapter offfice at feskew@gaaap.org. Click on the image to view the guide with embedded links.
Maternal & Child Health Conditions Database – This database can be used to help determine if your child/patient may be eligible for services provided by Children’s Medical Services (CMS), Babies Can’t Wait (BCW) and/or 1st Care. Please call your local office for information and questions.
Georgia Maternal Child Health Coordinator Locator – This database is intended as a resource for families to locate public health programs and services in their area serving the health needs of women and children
Children 1st is the entry point into Georgia’s Public Health system for children birth to five. The core functions of Children 1st include early identification of all children with conditions that place them at risk for poor health and/or developmental outcomes; especially through screening of Georgia’s Electronic Birth Certificates. Additionally, Children 1st supports developmental screening activities throughout Georgia to identify children in need.
Assessment of family strengths and needs as well as linkages to community based public and private programs and services is provided. Click here for a listing of Children 1st Coordinators. Click here to obtain a copy of the Children 1st Screening and Referral form. Click here to view Instructions to complete the form
Georgia Evidence Based Home Visiting (EBHV)
Specific goals of home visiting are to (1) increase healthy pregnancies; (2) improve parenting confidence and competence; (3) improve child health, development and readiness; and (4) increase family connectedness to community and social support.
The following Georgia Home Visiting Programs focus on maternal and child health, positive parenting practices, child development and school readiness, reductions in child maltreatment, family economic self-sufficiency and linkages and referrals to community resources and supports. Click on the program type to learn more about these models.
Georgia’s Online Analytical Statistical Information System ( OASIS )
OASIS is a standardized health data repository and provides aggregate birth and death data by counties and by years.
Birth Defects Reporting
Click here to learn mroe about Georgia’s Birth Defect Reporting system. Any questions pertaining to notifiable defects or methods of reporting should be referred to Registry staff at birthdefects@dph.ga.gov.
Other Public Health Programs and Services
Georgia Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention (GHHLPPP)
Click here for information on Georgia’s surveillance system for blood lead levels and environmental tests results and selected healthy homes variables.
Georgia Tobacco Quit Line Available Teens
The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line is a free resource available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (including holidays) that helps tobacco users ages 13 and older. The Quit Line can be reached by calling 1-877-270-STOP. Spanish speakers are encouraged to dial: 1-877-2NO-FUME; TTY: 1-877-777-6534 for the hearing impaired. Educational materials are available to post in your office or to give to your patients; click here to review available material.
Please contact the Chapter’s Director of Child Health, Fozia Khan Eskew via email at feskew@gaaap.org if you have any questions regarding the information on this webpage.
Safe To Sleep
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains the third leading cause of infant death and the main cause of postneonatal death. In 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its policy statement and technical reports on SIDS. Both the policy statement and technical report are titled SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment. Click here to view the 2016 policy statement.
While abnormalities in an infant’s brain stem and cardiac arrhythmias are attributed to SIDS, other environmental risks can make an infant vulnerable. These risks include stomach sleeping, soft bedding, lack of breastfeeding, incomplete immunizations, bed sharing, overheating, and exposure to maternal smoking, alcohol and illicit drug use. Additionally, new data is immerging that suggests that pacifier use cuts the risk of SIDS in half. Given these new risk factors the Back to Sleep campaign has been converted to the Safe Sleep campaign.
AAP Resources
Click on the items below to review each publication:
Local Resources
SIDS Alliance: The SIDS Alliance of Georgia and the Division of Public Health are dedicated to supporting families coping with SIDS. Click here for local resources.
Click here if you are looking for support services for a family who has experienced a loss as a result of SIDS/SUID and professional publications related to SIDS.
Georgia Medicaid and Oral Health
Primary Care Dentist (PCD)
The Georgia Department of Community Health’s Early, Periodic Screening, Diagnosis & Treatment (EPSDT), formerly Health Check includes an identified primary care dentist (PCD) for all children. Additionally, EPSDT requires that children be referred to a dentist for routine dental care as early as 12 months of age. However, if indicated, a dental referral may be made at any age. An inspection of the mouth and discussion on the importance of good oral hygiene with member/caregiver is to be provided during well visits. If a problem is idenfied during the oral exam, a referral to a dentist is indicated.
Oral Heatlh Risk Assessments
EPSDT also requires oral health risk assessment to be performed 6 and 9-month visits. Beginning at the 9-month visit, encourage the family to identify a dental home for their child if they have not already done so. For the 12, 18, 24, and 30 month visits, risk assessments should continue if a dental home has not been established. Document a referral or inability to refer to a dental home if one has not been establishedin the child’s chart.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has developed this tool to aid in the implementation of oral health risk assessment during health supervision visits. This tool has been subsequently reviewed and endorsed by the National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health. To obtain a copy of the Oral Health Risk Assessment tool click here.
Fluoride Varnish
EPSDT permits that once teeth are present, the application of fluoride varnish is may be applied every 3-6 months in the primary care or dental office for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. The code for physicians to report for this service is 99188.