MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lorraine Yeung Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Yeung: In this report, we looked at the percentages of children who received various recommended clinical preventive services. We found that millions of infants, children, and adolescents in the U.S. did not receive key clinical preventive services. This report provides a baseline snapshot of the use of 11 key clinical preventive services before or shortly after the Affordable Care Act went into effect. A focus of the Affordable Care Act is on improving prevention of illness and disability and it does so by requiring new health insurance plans to provide certain clinical preventive services at no additional cost — with no copays or deductibles. This is important because we know increasing the use of these services can improve children’s health and promote healthy lifestyles that will enable them to reach their full potential. Some of the important findings in this report were:          In 2007, parents of almost eight in 10 (79 percent) children aged 10-47 months reported that they were not asked by healthcare providers to complete a formal screen for developmental delays in the past year.          In 2009, more than half (56 percent) of children and adolescents did not visit the dentist in the past year and nearly nine of 10 (86 percent) children and adolescents did not receive a dental sealant or a topical fluoride application in the past year.          Nearly half (47 percent) of females aged 13-17 years had not received their recommended first dose of HPV vaccine in 2011.          Approximately one in three (31 percent) outpatient clinic visits made by 11-21 year-olds during 2004–2010 had no documentation of tobacco use status; eight of 10 (80 percent) of those who screened positive for tobacco use did not receive any cessation assistance.          Approximately one in four (24 percent) outpatient clinic visits for preventive care made by 3-17 year olds during 2009-2010 had no documentation of blood pressure measurement. (more…)