How Often Should My Child Visit the Doctor?

June 20, 2024

When it comes to your children, you want to make sure you’re making the right decisions, and this definitely applies to their health. New parents may be unsure of how often their child should visit their family doctors. According to Facts.net, typically children under one year old will need to see the doctor several times a year while older children may only need to visit annually. Let’s look more in-depth at this topic.

Between One and Four Years Old

Your child will have many pediatrician appointments between the ages of one and four. This is because your child is developing at a rapid pace during these years, and it’s crucial that you and your pediatrician work together to ensure your child is hitting developmental milestones at the appropriate ages. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advises that you take your child to see the doctor at 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months. Your child should also visit the doctor on their fourth birthday as well. On the child’s fourth birthday, you can consider this their first annual check-up after which point they will only need to visit their family doctors once a year.

Between Age Four and 18

Once your child has had their first annual checkup at age four, you’ll want to keep them on a regular annual checkup schedule each year. It’s easy to remember if you plan this visit around their birthday. During an annual checkup, their pediatrician will check for normal growth and development. Your child's mental health will also be evaluated as well as their social skills. These types of visits are referred to as well-child visits and don’t include appointments you might need for other reasons such as sickness or injuries.

You might be tempted to think that your child only needs to visit the doctor if they are sick or injured, but well-child appointments play a vital role in your child’s ongoing health and wellbeing. During these checkups, your family doctors will be able to identify potential problems so that early intervention can be started. This also helps to set an example for your child that it's important to maintain their health as they get older.

These are general recommendations for your child’s doctor visits. If you’re looking for family doctors in your area, please contact us at Hitchcock Family Medicine today. We are here to help you and your child on their wellness journey.

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Why We Don’t Take Insurance — And Why That’s Better for You

By 7071424396 • October 22, 2025

At Hitchcock Family Pharmacy, we’ve chosen to do things differently. We don’t accept insurance. Not because we can’t, but because we believe there’s a better way. And the result? Patients get clear prices, faster service, and real human care. In many cases, they even pay less than they would with insurance. Here’s why skipping the middlemen puts you back in control of your health. ⸻ Isn’t insurance supposed to make prescriptions cheaper? That’s the idea. But in reality, insurance often adds layers of cost and complexity that hurt everyone involved. When you fill a prescription at a typical chain pharmacy using insurance, a company called a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) gets involved. They decide which medications are “covered,” how much the pharmacy gets reimbursed, and what you end up paying. They can delay or deny medications your doctor recommends. And the final price at the register is often a surprise, even to the pharmacist. So even if your medication is technically covered, you might still overpay or walk away empty-handed. ⸻ Our approach is simpler. And it works. We work directly with patients and their doctors. No PBMs. No insurance games. This means: • You see the full price up front, with no surprises • If your doctor writes a prescription, we fill it • You’re not stuck waiting on prior authorizations • You can pick up meds same day or have them delivered • You’ll talk to real people who know your name Our pricing is often equal to or better than what you’d pay using a discount card like GoodRx. And we don’t play bait-and-switch pricing games. ⸻ What this means for doctors too We’re proud to support direct primary care practices, but we also work with traditional insurance-based clinics every day. Doctors are tired of wasting time on pharmacy red tape. Prior auth forms, phone tag, delays… It’s exhausting. When you send a prescription to Hitchcock Pharmacy, we get it filled quickly. We’re easy to reach, easy to work with, and always focused on what’s best for the patient. You don’t have to change your practice model to work with us. We’re just here to make your life easier. ⸻ Healthcare should be personal. So should your pharmacy. We didn’t build our pharmacy to fit into a broken system. We built it to fix what’s broken. No corporate call centers. No surprise charges. No runaround. Just fast, personal, affordable care from people who truly want to help. ⸻ Ready to try something different? 📬 Transfer your prescriptions today 📱 Set up refills or home delivery 🏥 Clinic or physician? Reach out and let’s work together