Pediatrics

One of the most important choices for expecting parents is finding a pediatrician they trust to care for their child. Dr. Elena Altshuler at Doctors in Princeton, in Princeton, New Jersey, is honored to become your child’s pediatrician. She welcomes expecting parents to schedule a time to meet with her, so they can talk about her approaches to child care, the type of services she offers, and how she will be a partner with the family from the moment your baby is born.

Pediatrics Q & A

Does Dr. Altshuler provide newborn care?

Expecting parents can count on Dr. Altshuler to provide excellent newborn care for their baby. The doctor will be available at the hospital to give the baby a first exam, to do follow-up exams while the baby is still in the hospital, and to check in with mom and dad to answer questions about baby care and breastfeeding.

Babies are considered newborn up to about 2 months of age, so Dr. Altshuler will schedule the following routine newborn check-ups:

• Within 1 week: Check for jaundice, weight, feeding, metabolic screening, and vaccines, if needed
• At 2 weeks: Weight check, physical exam, vaccines, if needed
• At 1 month: Weight check, physical exam, vaccines, if needed
• Months 2, 4, and 6: Physical exam, assess growth and development, vaccines, if needed

Why are well child visits important?

During their early years, children grow and develop at a rapid pace. One of the most important jobs of a pediatrician is screening for developmental milestones. These indicate whether your child is progressing at an expected pace, or if there are signs of a developmental problem that will benefit from early intervention.

Relying on an expert like Dr. Altshuler to evaluate development is important, because there are multiple milestones that must be assessed at every age. For example, by 2 months, babies typically do the following:

• Social and emotional: Tries to look at parent, begins to smile, can briefly calm herself by sucking on hand
• Language/communication: Turns head toward sounds, makes cooing or gurgling sounds
• Cognitive (learning, thinking): Begins to follow things with eyes, pays attention to faces, recognizes people at a distance, gets fussy if activity doesn’t change
• Movement/physical development: Can hold head up, begins to push up when lying on tummy

Developmental milestones get more complex as children age, so it’s essential to make and keep regular well child visits. Checkups are usually scheduled at months 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30, then beginning at the age of 3 years, well child visits are scheduled every year.

What specialized pediatric services are available at Doctors in Princeton?

Dr. Altshuler at Doctors in Princeton offers the comprehensive services you would expect for children and adolescents, whether they need lab tests and treatment for an illness, immunizations, or a routine preventive checkup. The doctor also offers:

• School readiness assessment
• School physicals
• Nutrition counseling and weight management
• Sports physicals
• Allergy testing
• Child development screening for behavioral, learning, and emotional disorders

Primary Care Doctor Specialist

Internal medicine practitioners and pediatricians qualify to be primary care doctors because they take responsibility for providing continuous and comprehensive health care. That means you can rely on Dr. Elena Altshuler to proudly serve as your primary care physician. At Doctors in Princeton, in Princeton, New Jersey, the doctor offers a full range of medical and preventive health care services to patients of all ages.

Primary Care Doctor Q & A

What is a primary care doctor?

A primary care doctor is your main health care provider, the first person you contact for undiagnosed concerns and continuing care of chronic health conditions that affect any part of your body. Primary care doctors, or primary care physicians (PCPs), are trained to treat the full range of health conditions, so you can rely on their expertise for all your health care needs.

While your primary care doctor is the person you visit when you’re sick or need an annual checkup, they do more than diagnose and treat health conditions. They also oversee or coordinate all of the health care services you might need. Primary care doctors can help you get access to specialty care, educational services, and community services.

Think of your primary care doctor as being the heart of your medical home. This is where you can form a long-term relationship with a physician you trust.

Why do you need a primary care doctor?

One reason for having a primary care doctor is that it gives you a person you can call and a place where you can go when you have a health problem. Without a primary care doctor, you may end up visiting the emergency department for a common health issue that’s easily treated by a primary care physician. Additionally, health insurance providers require you to choose a primary care doctor.

Here’s another reason you need a primary care doctor: It will help keep you healthier as you get older. Primary care doctors focus on preventive medicine, helping you recognize risk factors so you can avoid chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes. Having a primary care doctor increases the chance that you’ll get preventive checkups, receive an early and accurate diagnosis, and get appropriate treatment.

Are the physicians at Doctors in Princeton primary care doctors?

Yes, they are. As internists and pediatricians, they provide the full range of primary care medical services, from acute and chronic medical care to wellness exams, health screenings, immunizations, psychological care, and patient education about nutrition, exercise, and parenting. The physicians of Doctors at Princeton are your partners for the long run. Our team focuses on the family, believes in treating the whole person, and helps each patient maintain health and wellness over the years.

Immunizations General Information

Immunizations for children 0-6 years old

Immunizations for children 7-18 years old

Immunizations Q & A

Wellness Exams Specialist

Dr. Elena Altshuler, in Princeton, New Jersey, offers wellness exams so that she can help patients prevent chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Contact Doctors in Princeton to schedule an appointment and learn how the health screening provided during a wellness exam can identify your risk factors for disease.

Wellness Exams Q & A

What is a wellness exam?

Wellness examinations have one goal: preventive health care. During a wellness exam, you’re screened for signs of potential health problems so they can be prevented or properly managed with early treatment instead of getting worse.

Separating a wellness exam from a sick visit is important for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important is time. When you’re sick, you’ll need a quick same-day appointment, and you’ll want treatment as soon as possible so you can get relief.

By comparison, during a wellness exam, you’ll spend time talking with the doctor because it’s important to get into depth about family medical history, your lifestyle habits, and any changes in your health since the last visit.

What can you expect during a wellness exam?

A wellness exam includes a physical exam, screenings for various health conditions, and other tests like diagnostic bloodwork, hearing, and vision. Dr. Altshuler will discuss your child’s medical history and talk about lifestyle factors that have a big impact on their health, such as diet, exercise, stress, and the use of tobacco or alcohol.

The goal of a wellness exam is to prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and lung disease, so the doctor will look for any factors that may increase your child’s chance for developing chronic health conditions.

While health screenings generally follow a recommended schedule based on age, Dr. Altshuler will consider your child’s current health and family history when deciding which tests they may need. Some screening tests they may receive include:

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Nutritional deficiency
• Skin cancer check
• Sport physical
• Cervical cancer
• Growth and development
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Psychological emotional screening

We offer the following services to our patients:

• Preventive Maintenance Examinations and routine immunizations
• Infants
• Children
• Adolescents
• Sick infant, child and adolescent care
• Emergency care – 24 hour availability
• Inpatient hospital care
• Newborn hospital care – routine and emergency
• Hearing and vision testing
• Developmental screening
• Behavior assessment and counseling
• Anticipatory guidance
• School readiness screening
• Psychological services and counseling
• Nutrition counseling
• Weight control
• Breast feeding support and counseling
• Scoliosis testing
• Pulmonary testing and therapy
• Accident prevention evaluation and recommendations
• Sex education counseling
• Drug counseling
• Prenatal counseling
• Laboratory services done on premises and submitted to the lab your insurance participates with
• General guidance and coordination of care with different specialists
• Yearly school and sports physicals
• Allergy shots
• CDC recommended immunizations