November 26 is National Family Health History Day

Your patient's health is closely related to their environment and experiences, and screening for these is now easy and billable. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are circumstances that fit into 10 categories under the domains of abuse, neglect and household dysfunction and can result in toxic stress in patients.

 

Data shows that 62% of Californians have experienced at least one ACE and 16% have experienced four or more ACEs in their lives. Experiencing four or more ACEs has been clearly associated with 9 of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States, including chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, cancer, heart disease and diabetes, along with a range of mental illnesses.

 

Research has also demonstrated that the effects of toxic stress show a pattern of intergenerational transmission, affecting multiple generations in a family. This is why the California Surgeon General has made it a priority to start screening for ACEs during regular doctor appointments and connect identified Californians with the proper resources to lower their level of risk. The ACEs screening tools and a comprehensive two-hour training is available to providers for free and provides 2 continuing medical education (CME) or Maintenance of Certification credits.

 

Once this training is completed, Medi-Cal Managed Care providers can be reimbursed for each screening completed and can help their patients live longer, healthier lives. For more information, go to https://www.acesaware.org.

 

ACE screening — good news for your office, better health for your patient and their family