Young people who are referred to the Adolescent Medicine Department at Riley at IU Health first undergo an adolescent consultation appointment. This appointment helps determine what support and treatment the adolescent needs to improve his or her health.
Our doctors see adolescents with a wide range of conditions, including:
An adolescent consultation may take longer than a normal doctor’s appointment. Typical consultations take between two and three hours depending on what tests the patient may need. Almost all testing services are available close to our clinics, including blood tests and X-rays.
Adolescents can speak openly with our doctors about any and all worries they may have about their health or other issues. Our doctors respect young peoples’ right to privacy and will not share this information. Parents may also spend time speaking to the doctor, asking questions and learning more about how to better communicate and help their child.
During the consultation, patients will undergo a physical exam and some testing. Patients will also spend a long time speaking with an adolescent medicine physician about their health, including their family history, what their diet is like, if they exercise and other pertinent information. It is likely that parents will be asked to leave the exam room for some amount of time during the appointment. In order to ensure that we provide accurate, effective care, our doctors need time to speak confidentially with young people about all issues.
To help our doctors offer better treatment, please bring any medical records or other documentation you may have. This includes vaccination records and a detailed list of medicines that includes when the medicine is taken, how much is taken and the last time a dose was taken before the appointment.
Based on this consultation and lab results, our doctors create a personalized treatment plan to help improve the teen's health. This plan may include medicines, lifestyle changes and other therapies.
After the consultation, adolescents may be referred to other specialty doctors to receive more care. Follow-up appointments may also be scheduled to monitor progress or further address issues.
