• The annual reported rate captures activity during the previous calendar year. 
• This is a Healthcare Effectiveness & Data Information Set (HEDIS) administrative measure.
• Based on the advice of their External Quality Review Organization (EQRO), DVHA’s rates include only Medicaid Primary beneficiaries in HEDIS administrative measures as of 2014.
• The red dashed trend line above is the 50th percentile national benchmark for Medicaid programs. The blue solid trend line is Vermont Medicaid's actual values.

The rate reported here is the 6 or more visit rate, which is the recommended standard of care. For this measure, a higher number is better.

This measure looks at the adequacy of well-child care for infants. It measures the percentage of children who had between one and six or more well-child visits by the time they turned 15 months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends six well-child visits in the first year of life. These visits are of particular importance during the first year of life when an infant undergoes substantial changes in abilities, physical growth, motor skills, hand-eye coordination and social and emotional growth. Regular check-ups are one of the best ways to detect problems. They also provide an opportunity for the clinician to offer guidance and counseling to parents.

The DVHA was concerned about the downward trend line starting in 2014. DVHA data, quality and policy unit staff conducted deeper analysis in 2016 and began working more closely with the Vermont Dept. of Health's Maternal & Child Health Division. This issue was discussed at the Pediatric Council. Through our analysis we can tell that pediatric office closures and mergers in a few counties had an effect on the number of well visits. The improved rates for 2017 - 2019 are encouraging, but still below 2014 performance.

Last updated:  September 2021

Partners internal to the Dept. of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) that are working to improve this measure include:

• Quality Unit
• Clinical Unit
• Data Unit

Partners within the Agency of Human Services (AHS) and the community that the DVHA also works with on this measure include:

• Medicaid providers
• Parents
• Vermont Dept. of Health's Maternal and Child Health Division
• AHS Policy Unit