Odd Thoughts on Well-Child Care
Lawrence F. Nazarian MD1
1 29 Surrey Place, Penfield, NY 14526
It is good to take a hard look at longstanding habits. Well-child care is at the heart of pediatrics; yet, even this most sacred of commitments has been under scrutiny in recent years, and rightly so. But those of us who spend half of our time in well-child visits are frustrated by studies that fail to demonstrate any measurable benefits from our efforts, with the exception of immunization programs. Are researchers really looking at the right parameters? Are there too many variables to allow a truly scientific evaluation of these practices?
At least it is comforting to hear that parental satisfaction and confidence are acknowledged by-products of our work, and intuitively we believe that this effect is good for growing children.
