Adolescent care service is a type of medical service that ensures your child, ages 10 to 21, receives all the health services he or she needs during this important stage in life. This service includes physical exams, school and camp physicals, mental health evaluations, and on-site ear piercings to help your child preserve his or her health.
In the United States, adolescents access primary care through private and public insurance, including family plans offered by one or both parents' employers. They also use the safety net, which consists of public hospital systems; academic health centers and community health centers or clinics funded by federal, state, or local public health agencies; and local health departments. In addition, many communities have school-based health centers and outreach services for adolescents.
Most adolescents visit a primary care provider (pediatrician, general internist, nurse practitioner, or gynecologist) annually. The Adolescent Care may also rely on hospital emergency departments for routine or urgent care, especially during nonworking hours. In fact, adolescents' reported rate of utilization for routine, nonurgent health care in emergency settings is higher than that of any other age group.
Despite their regular visits, many adolescents do not engage with primary care providers for screening and prevention. For example, few primary care providers adhere to recommended prevention guidelines and screen for risk factors that increase adolescents' health risks or provide effective counseling that would foster health promotion. Additionally, few adolescents receive treatment for substance use and other comorbid health conditions.
Specialty services that address adolescent health issues, such as mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and substance use treatment and prevention, are available but not accessible to most adolescents. For example, there are fewer than 40 specialty inpatient adolescent units in the United States. This shortage of adolescent units prevents them from serving all adolescent patients, who often have comorbid health concerns or behavioral problems (Fisher and Kaufman, 1996; Macfarlane and Blum, 2001).
Even when specialty services are available, many adolescents are unwilling to seek them because they fear disclosure of sensitive information, such as their substance use, sexual or reproductive health, or mental health status. Because of these concerns, adolescents' lack of trust in health care services may delay their care or worsen their health outcomes.
Some adolescent care service providers have received training in trauma-informed and culturally congruent care to build rapport with adolescents and develop an understanding of their perspectives. These trainings are sometimes costly to providers, but they can improve patient uptake of these services.
There is a need to integrate the provision of evidence-based therapies into health care for adolescents, as well as develop and implement policies to incentivize providers to assess and address their behavioral health and health-related social needs. These policies can include a variety of measures, such as reimbursement rates for counseling and case management services, care coordination, and consistent cross-silo standards for health services delivery to adolescent patients.
To achieve these goals, Meridian HealthCare approaches are comprehensive and inclusive, encompassing both primary and specialty care. These efforts must include the development of adolescent-specific programs that support the developmental skills of young people and their capacity to cope with the challenges of adolescence in their own lives. Moreover, these services must be designed to be accessible to adolescents who are uninsured or do not find private office-based primary care acceptable for their health needs.
For more understanding of this article, visit this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent_medicine.
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