SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS

• Prenatal visits - Prenatal visits to our office by expectant parents are encouraged and can be arranged with our office. This visit allows you to meet us and have any of your initial baby questions answered.

• New patients - If you are transferring from another pediatric practice, please have your child’s records, including immunization dates, sent to our office before the initial appointment.

• Sick visits - We see patients by appointment only, and we do our best to accommodate same day sick visits. Please call as early in the day as possible if you feel your child might need to be seen so that we can reserve a time for him/her. If you want siblings to be seen as well, please inform us. Despite our best intentions, schedule constraints and consideration for already booked patients may prevent us from accommodating siblings that are added on without prior notification.

• Well appointments - The routine schedule we follow is visits at: 2-3 days after hospital discharge, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 15 months, 18 months, 2 years, 2 ½ years, 3 years, and yearly thereafter. Please call 6-12 weeks in advance of the desired date for school and sports physical exams.
   

• Please bring your child’s updated insurance card to your office visit.

• Contact and insurance information needs to be updated yearly.  Please notify us immediately if there are changes in this information at any time.

• Co-payments are due when you check-in. We accept cash, personal checks, and Visa/Master Card/Discover/American Express cards.
   

AFTER HOURS AND WEEKENDS

• There is always a pediatrician available to you for urgent phone advice or telehealth, as well as
  sick visits on the weekends.  We partner with several pediatric practices to provide this
  coverage service.  Weekend morning sick visits will be performed at the office of the physician on call, by appointment.  Call our main number 401-273-9555, and you will be instructed how to reach the covering weekend physician.  

• If you have a true emergency, we recommend you dial 911 or proceed directly to the Emergency Room.
   

REFERRALS

• Please give us 1 week advance notice to complete a referral. Depending on the nature of the referral, we will determine if your child needs to be seen in our office first.  We need the following information:

• Name and date of birth of child

• Primary care provider of child

• Correct insurance information

• Name, phone number, and fax of physician being referred to

• Date and time of appointment

• Reason for visit
   

REFILLS

• Prescriptions are now sent electronically.  Please call your pharmacy directly for refills.  Please give us 24 hours for medication refills once the request is received. Some medications, such as stimulants and antidepressants, will be refilled only if the patient has come in for the appropriate medication checks. For example, patients receiving birth control medication must be seen at least once per year, patients with asthma must be seen at least every 6 months, and patients on ADD/ADHD meds must be seen at least every 3 months.
   

APPOINTMENT CANCELLATIONS

• If you need to change an appointment, please do so at least 24 hours in advance so that your time slot may be filled by another patient. Failure to do so will result in a missed appointment fee per our
  financial policy. In the event that you arrive more than 20 minutes late, we may have to reschedule your appointment to another day or time.
   

FORMS FOR SCHOOL CLEARANCE, MEDICATION AUTHORIZATIONS, AND RELATED FORMS​

• Our patients are very active in school, sports, camps, and other activities that require health forms to be completed.  These forms are often complicated and take time to complete.  Please allow 3-5 business days to have your forms completed.  Please be sure to have the patient’s name and date of birth on the form.
   

• The Annual Physical form is free.  After each well visit, we will provide you with a completed state school physical examination form and immunization record emailed to the email on file as soon as possible.  Typically, this is the end of each business day or the beginning of the next business day, but please allow up to 5 days for the completion of this form and plan accordingly.  This form is good for one year, and you may photocopy it and submit it in response to medical information requests from school, camps, and sports organizations throughout the year.
   

• Additional copies of any form provided at the time of visit and/or any form requested after that visit will require a standard fee of $5 charge per page for each school, sport, or camp form completed.  There is no charge for WIC forms.
   

• Any form involving legal matters or complicated behavioral or medical health issues can only be completed by a provider who is knowledgeable of the condition and, in certain situations, may require A) more time to complete, and B) documented clearance on file by a specialist prior to completion.
   

• Any form required in 24 hours or less incurs a $25.00 “rush fee” charge.  Please note, we cannot guarantee this service.  It is subject to the constraints of the practice.  These fees are not billable to your insurance. 
   

• Our policies are in-line with our ACO-wide policies on physical forms and are not necessarily unique to our practice

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MEDICAL RECORD TRANSFER

• If you would like your child’s records transferred from our office, there will be a $25.00 charge. In compliance with HIPAA rules and regulations, we require a written request to transfer records. Patients who are 18 years of age or older must personally sign the release form.
   

PHONE POLICIES

• Our phone calls are answered by trained and experienced individuals who are prepared to help you manage common childhood illnesses and general care concerns. If you are calling with an emergency or if you need to speak to the physician, please inform the secretary when you call. The physician may return your call between patients, at lunchtime, or at the end of the day, or may decide that it is more appropriate for you to make an appointment to discuss the matter in the office.
   

  Please adhere to the following phone etiquette:

• Restrict after-hours telephone calls to emergencies only. Routine advice, laboratory results, and prescription refills are more appropriately handled during our normal office hours.

• Please give us one phone number where we can reach you.

• Especially if you are calling after hours, keep the phone line free so we may return your call. We try to call back within the hour and busy phone lines prevent us from providing prompt service.

• In some cases, we will return a call from a private number.  If you have a call block for private numbers, please remove the block or we will be unable to return your call.

• When your call is returned, please state the name and age of the child, name of the primary care physician, and a provide a brief description of your concern.

• Have your regular pharmacy number as well as a back-up 24-hour pharmacy handy when you call. It is also helpful if you know the approximate weight of your child as well as the names and dosages of meds he/she is taking.

  Please adhere to the following office etiquette:

• As a courtesy to our staff and other patients, we ask that you:

  • Please turn off cell phones while at our office.

  • Please supervise your children.

  • Please take home any soiled diapers. Bags are available upon request.
     

HEALTH-RELATED POLICIES

• Contagious rashes/communicable diseases  - We reserve the right to take measures to protect our patient population if any of our office staff suspects a contagious rash or communicable disease.  This includes, but is not limited to, the right to have a patient wait outside our office until it can be determined that the patient will not inadvertently threaten our patient population.  

• Hazardous substances - Please note, we reserve the right to take measures to protect our patient population if any of our office staff suspects potential exposure to a harmful or hazardous substance brought into the office either intentionally or unintentionally.  This includes, but is not limited to, the right to refuse to see or room a patient or family at the time of suspicion.  The safety of our patients and families is paramount.

• We thank all families for their patience and understanding regarding these notices.