Policies

Tardiness & Cancellation

Please contact our office if you are more than 15 minutes late for an appointment.
Patients arriving more than 15 minutes late may be asked to reschedule or may be required to postpone their visit with the physician until the end of clinic.
Please provide 24 hours cancellation notice of Well Child Check Up appointments.
Please be advised, excessive tardiness and no-shows may result in your dismissal from our practice.
Our practice does charge a $40.00 fee for all no show appointments and/or appointments that do not follow our cancellation policy.

Work-In & Walk-In Appointments

We strongly discourage walk-in appointments. Simply contact our office before arriving at any of our locations and we will make every attempt to have your child seen immediately.
If you arrive at any of our locations seeking treatment without an appointment, your child will be scheduled for the first available appointment time. If there are no appointments available, you will be considered a Work-In and we will see your child if and when an opening in the schedule occurs, which may not be until the end of clinic (after 5:00 pm).
Please contact our office by phone before arriving at any of our locations seeking treatment.
Patients seen as a Work-In or Walk-In may be billed an additional fee.

Phone Message Policy

Phone messages left for our nurses during the morning hours are answered by 1:00 pm on the same day, and messages left after 2:00 pm will be answered by 5:00 pm the same day.Parents leaving messages for our nurses prior to 4:30 pm will receive return calls on the same day.
Our nurses will discuss all your questions with one of our physicians. If the physician deems the problem urgent, you will receive an immediate return call. Questions of a routine nature may be answered at the end of clinic.
Phone messages left for any other staff members are not necessarily returned on the same day. Please do not leave urgent voicemail messages with our Medical Records Clerk, Referral Clerk or Billing Department.

Medication Refills

Please contact your pharmacy directly to request a refill on a medication that has been filled at your pharmacy in the past. This method will result in the most timely and efficient processing.
Upon receiving correspondence from your pharmacy, we will make every attempt to handle your request within one (1) business day.
If your request is urgent, please contact our office directly and follow the phone prompts to leave a voice message for our nurses. Our nurses will return all voice messages left prior to 4:00 pm on the same day.
If your child requires a refill on their ADD or ADHD medication, please review our ADD & ADHD Page for instructions on controlled substance refill requests.

Lab Orders

If the physician orders STAT lab-work on your child, we will contact you with results on the same business day or early the following business day
For other lab-work ordered, please allow seven to ten business days from the date the test was completed to be contacted with results. If you have not received results from our office after ten business days, please contact our office.

Medical Records & Shot Records

In order for our practice to release any medical information, and in accordance with the Privacy Policy listed above, a Medical Release Form must be on file. Please complete a Medical Release Form and provide it to our office either by fax or in person prior to requesting medical or shot records.
After we receive the medical records request our office will provide you with your child’s records within fifteen business days.
You are able to access a copy of your child's immunization record on the patient portal or to put in a request for your child’s shot records, please contact our office and follow the prompts to leave a message for the nurse. The nurse will provide you with your child’s shot records within two to three business days.

Form Requests

Sports clearance forms, camp forms, and other related forms will not be completed if your child has not had a Well Child Check-Up within the last twelve (12) months. Other forms may also require a visit with your physician.
Please bring all requested forms to your Well Child Check-Up or follow up appointment and ensure the parent portion of these forms are completed prior to your child’s appointment date.
If your child has a current Well Child Check-Up, please provide our office with the requested form either by fax or in person.
We ask parents to allow three to five business days for the completion of forms.
Depending on the nature of the requested form, a service fee may be charged.

Referrals

If your child is referred to a specialist by one of our physicians, the Referral Clerk will contact you within five business days to provide you with the necessary information.
If it is required by your insurance, the Referral Clerk will obtain authorization for your specialist visit. When authorization is required, additional time may be required to provide referral.
If you would like your child to be referred to a specialist, we may require an evaluation with one of our physicians.

Custody Agreements

In cases of divorce, separation, or change in guardianship, we will require legal documentation indicating which parent(s) are authorized to make medical decisions and receive medical information.
The parent who is present and seeking treatment is responsible for any copayments and balances due at the time of service. We will be happy to provide you with a receipt if you need to seek reimbursement from another party.

Minors Seeking Treatment without a Legal Guardian Present

Any patient under the age of 18 is considered a minor.
In order for a minor to receive treatment, he or she must either be accompanied by their legal guardian or we must have written permission provided by the legal guardian for treatment to be provided when the minor is accompanied by someone other than the legal guardian.
If you would like to provide written permission for your child to receive treatment while accompanied by someone other than yourself, please complete the Consent by Proxy for Non-Urgent Care form and provide it to our office either at the time of your child’s appointment or via fax.
If you would like to provide permission for your teenager to seek care independently, please complete the Consent for Underaged Teen to Seek Independent Care form.