In early February, St. Joseph Health System Sports Medicine, Beacon Medical Group Sports Medicine and The South Bend Clinic notified Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation and other St. Joseph County high schools that they would not be able to continue the practice of their physicians providing school based "on-site" pre-participation physical examinations for student-athletes.
The local health systems state in the letter that this is in compliance with recommendations from the Pre-participation Physical Evaluation (PPE) 5th Edition published and endorsed in 2019 by six organizations: American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine.
The letter states “The Physicians of the South Bend Clinic, Sports Medicine Physicians of Beacon Medical Group and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center believe that it is in the best interest of student athletes to establish a "Medical Home" and consequently seek an annual History and Physical Examination that can also satisfy IHSAA Sports Physicals requirements.” Click to read the 2019 PPE Pre-participation Physical Evaluation 5th Edition as supplied to P-H-M from the local health systems.
Parents will now need to make appointments with their student-athlete’s pediatrician/primary care physician to get a physical and to fill out the IHSAA Pre-participation Physical Evaluation (PPE) form. If an student-athlete does not have an established primary care physician, their parents will need to establish one. Click to download a copy of the IHSAA PPE form.
The IHSAA allows pre-participation exams to be signed after April 1 for the subsequent academic year. A PPE form filled out & signed after April 1, 2021 satisfies IHSAA exam requirements through June 2022.
As stated in the letter to P-H-M “If parents schedule a routine their student-athlete’s annual "well child" visit between January 1 and April 1 (some offices will schedule these exams to coincide with the patient’s birthday), then the examiner may consider completing and signing the IHSAA form after April 1—attesting that the exam was completed recently and athlete's health status remains the same. Thus, authorizing the April 1 signature and medical authorization to participate in sports for the upcoming academic year.
