Office Info
General Services
Phone Calls and Advice
After Hours Care
Refills
Controlled Substance Prescriptions
Appointments
Late Arrivals
Missed Appointments
Bridge From Adolescents to Adult Health Care
Policy for Divorce and Separated Parents
Forms
General Services
An emphasis is placed on preventative care and supportive services for children and their families. Pediatric Care is proud of it’s commitment to care for the child and family on an on-going basis. General services that we provide are:
- Routine Well child Visits
- Same Day Sick Appointments
- Saturday Office Hours at our West Chester Location
- Telephone Advice available during all office hours
- In-House Lab Services (molecular Covid 19, Influenza A & B, Strep A, lipid profiles, urinalysis and many others)
- Asthma
- ADHD
- Depression
- Anxiety
Phone Calls and Advice
There is a nurse available to give advice to patients over the phone at both offices during regular office hours. Should a phone call require the doctor’s attention, the physician will return your call as promptly as possible.
Our busiest phone time is on Monday and early mornings Tuesday through Friday. In order to decrease your time on hold for non-emergent advice or information, it is best to call in the late morning or early afternoon, as these are our least busy phone times.
After Hours Care
If your child is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, CALL 911 for immediate help.
After hours, you can speak with someone from our answering service, who will page the on call provider. The provider will then return your call at the number you provide. If you don’t hear from the provider on call within 30 minutes, please call our number again and have the provider re-paged.
For non-urgent questions, please call our office during regular office hours
Refills
To refill prescriptions, you can call the office during regular office hours or you can call the pharmacy. If you choose to call the office, ask to be connected to the refill line. Please have the patient’s name, date of birth, name of the medication, strength/dose, and pharmacy name and phone number. Prescriptions for ADD and ADHD must have a controlled substances form completed and next appointment must be scheduled. We now also offer refill requests by email. Please email your request along with the above information to [email protected].
**Please note that we require 24 business hours for all refill requests.
Controlled Substance Prescriptions
Your practitioner may need to prescribe a controlled substance for your child. This means that a prescription will be sent electronically to the pharmacy. In order for this to be easy and effective for your child, we need you to read, sign, and return the following controlled substance policy form
Appointments
We see both well and sick children every day. We encourage you to schedule well visits as soon as possible, especially summer check-ups. This enables you to have your preference of provider, day and time of appointment.
It is our policy to see all ill children the same day if needed. We ask that you call as early as possible that day, to ensure that we will have adequate time to see everyone.
Late Arrivals
Patients arriving late for an appointment will be asked to reschedule. We will try to accommodate late-comers as best as possible, but cannot compromise on the quality and timely care provided to our other patients. You may be given the option to wait for another appointment time on the same day if one is available. You may also need to see an alternative provider if the provider you were scheduled to see does not have an opening in their schedule. If we cannot accommodate you into the schedule, we will ask that you reschedule for another day and time that is convenient for you and your child.
Missed Appointments
All insured and non-insured patients may be charged a $50 “no-show” fee on the second and third missed appointments and dismissal from the practice may result after a subsequent no-show.
When possible, we require cancellations to be made at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment. All cancellations made with less than a 24 hours’ notice may be subject to a cancellation fee. Missed appointments will be handled according to the following Missed Appointment Policy
Bridge From Adolescents to Adult Health Care
Becoming an adult is a rite of passage that many people look forward to. Turning 18 brings a number of exciting rights such as voting, decision making and a certain amount of independence.
Health care will become one of your most important responsibilities. Pediatric Care, Inc. will continue to provide medical care to you for a time after you turn 18. We recommend talking to your doctor and parents about transitioning to an adult physician.
Unless specific consent is given, we are not permitted to talk with your parents about your health care once you have turned 18. You will need to sign a consent form allowing us to speak with them. You may print the form from our website 18 Year Old Authorization to Disclose Information (Form) or you may obtain one from the office.
Policy for Divorce and Separated Parents
Pediatric Care, Inc. is dedicated to our patients and providing quality medical care to your child (ren). Children of divorced or separated parents sometimes present our practice with unique challenges; therefore the following policy has been established to avoid misunderstandings going forward.
The providers and office staff will not be put in the middle of domestic issues or disagreements over the phone or in the office.
You will be asked to read, sign and agree to the following policy when visiting the office so that we may provide care to your children. Divorced and Separated Parents Policy form.
- Please make decisions regarding appointments, vaccinating and/or any office procedures PRIOR to visiting our practice.
- “Joint Custody” means that each parent has equal access to the child’s medical records. Without a court order, we will not stop either parent from looking at their child’s chart or obtaining test results. If there is a dispute between the parents regarding custody, and a custody agreement has been reached, we will need to see documentation specifying the legal guardian.
- Only in situations where there is a confirmed, documented Court Order will one of the parent’s be denied access to the minor child’s health records or visits at the office. Pediatric Care, Inc. must have a copy of this Court Order on file in the minor child’s electronic chart.
- If there is NOT a court order on file with our office, either parent or legal guardian can sign a “Consent to Treat” form that authorizes any named individuals ( like grandparents, nannies etc.) to bring your child to our practice, be present during the visit and consent to any treatment during that visit. We will not be involved in any disputes regarding named individuals on the consent forms unless instructed by the court. Either parent or legal guardian can schedule an appointment for their child, be present for the visit and/or obtain a copy of the visit summary. (Subject to medical records fee.)
- It is both parents’ responsibility to communicate with each other about the patients’ care, office visit dates and any other pertinent information relevant to the patient. It is not the responsibility of the provider to communicate visit information to each custodial parent separately. Our providers will not call the non-attending parent following visits. Additionally, we will not call a parent to notify of an appointment scheduled by the other.
- The responsibility of the bill for minors is with the parents or legal guardian. It is our policy to collect payment at the time of service from the parent, guardian or caretaker who brings the child in for the appointment.
- The parent or guardian who completes the information sheet and signs the assignment and release will be the guarantor regardless of insurance coverage.
- We reserve the right to charge an administrative fee for copying records should the requests become excessive.
- Should the issues that come between parents become disruptive to our organization or there is non-compliance with this policy, we reserve the right to discharge the family from the practice.
Forms
Most schools, day cares and sports organizations require a pre-participation physical form or a child medical statement form to be completed prior to allowing your child to enroll or participate. Due to the volume of requests we receive, we ask that you give us 48 hours to complete your child’s forms. After that, you may pick them up at your convenience. Please note: In order for us to properly complete any forms, your child needs to have had a check-up within the past year.