About Dr. Kawalek

The short version

Adam Z. Kawalek, MD. Board-certified internal medicine physician. Founder + sole reviewing physician at SportSlip. NPI 1326223306. Licensed in 29 U.S. states (full list below). 15+ years of clinical experience.

Why SportSlip exists

The standard sports physical hasn't evolved in 40 years. A parent drives their kid to a clinic, waits 45 minutes, gets 4 minutes with whoever's on staff that day, a stethoscope on the chest for 10 seconds, a signature on the form. Camp registration done.

That model misses things. The American Heart Association's 14-element cardiovascular history — the protocol designed specifically to catch the cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias responsible for the overwhelming majority of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes — takes 8–10 minutes done properly. Most in-person sports physicals skip it. The AAP's PPE-5 musculoskeletal sequence takes another 5–6 minutes done properly. Most skip parts of that too.

SportSlip is built around a simple idea: do the screening protocols properly, every time, by removing the time pressure of the in-person visit. Parents fill out the AAP + AHA framework at their kitchen table. They record a 30-second video so I can observe the musculoskeletal sequence. I review the screen end-to-end, decide based on the actual content rather than a 4-minute glance, and sign or refer. If anything in the screen needs in-person evaluation, I refer to your pediatrician — no clearance issued, full refund.

Credentials

• Medical degree: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
• Undergraduate: Brown University.
• Board certification: Internal Medicine (American Board of Internal Medicine).
• NPI: 1326223306. Public lookup.
• Medical licenses (29 states, all active + in good standing): AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI. Primary license: Massachusetts (1021506).
• Professional liability insurance: Active, covering telehealth across all 29 states where I'm licensed.

Currently expanding state coverage. Hawaii and New Jersey are the active gaps. If your state isn't listed, drop me an email and I'll let you know if it's in the queue.

Clinical approach

Every SportSlip clearance is personally reviewed by me. Not AI, not a template, not a midlevel signing in my name. The screening framework is built on the same protocols pediatric sports medicine literature has settled on (cited in detail on How We Screen):

• AAP PPE-5 musculoskeletal evaluation.
• AHA 14-element cardiovascular personal-and-family history.
• AMSSM mental-health screen for adolescents.
• Optional ECG cardiac-rhythm screen per ESC guidelines (the European standard since 1982).
• SCAT-6 concussion baseline for athletes returning from concussion.

When the screening flags something — heart murmur character, family sudden-death under 50, exertional syncope, multiple concussions with ongoing symptoms — I refer rather than clear. That's 9 conditions caught at the pre-pay sieve and 3 caught post-pay (full refund in either case). The point of the service is to give parents a fast, properly-done clearance — not to clear kids who shouldn't be cleared.

Why the price is what it is

$59 for a Standard clearance. Compare to a $200–400 office visit if you don't have a pediatrician with availability + the time + gas to drive there + the 90 minutes of your evening. SportSlip is faster, cheaper, and — done right — clinically more thorough than the 4-minute clinic exam most parents end up with. That's the value proposition. I don't need to mark it up; the unit economics work at this price because telehealth has no exam-room overhead.

What I do outside SportSlip

I also founded and run SickSlip— an asynchronous telehealth service for doctor's notes (sick notes, work notes, school absence notes). Same physician (me), different use case (workplace + school absence documentation rather than sports clearance). The two services share infrastructure but are operated independently.

Get in touch

Best way to reach me: adam@sportslip.co. Phone (833) 549-6401 if it's urgent.