Office Policies
Vaccination Policy
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We DO NOT accept walk-in patients. All visits are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling our office. Additionally, please do not ask to have another child seen during a sibling's appointment. Our providers are only allotted a specific amount of time for each patient and adding on a sibling may cause delays for our other patients. If you have any additional concerns about another child, please call our office to schedule a separate appointment.
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No-shows and late cancellations cause problems that go beyond a financial impact on our practice. When an appointment is missed, it takes an available time slot away from another child and can delay the delivery of healthcare to other patients. As your children’s pediatric health care provider, we hope to provide exceptional care. We can achieve this by working together during scheduled appointments towards the health and well-being of your child.
Please be aware of our No-Show Policy, after three (3) cumulative no shows to your appointments, your children may be dismissed from our practice.
Appointments are considered a no-show when patients:
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Do not attend their scheduled appointment
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Do not call and cancel their appointment at least 24 hours in advance
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Arrive 10 minutes late or later than the scheduled appointment start time, and are asked to reschedule
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For medication refills, please call our office and leave a message on our prescription line. Medications will not be refilled outside of office hours. Please allow at least 3 business days to process your request.
****Continuous medication management appointments may be required to continue to refill certain medications. Refills may be denied by your child's provider if a patient has not been seen for a follow up medication check appointment within the past 6 months****
Vaccination Policy
We firmly believe that in most circumstances, vaccinating children and young adults is a critical part of laying the foundation for a healthy life. The recommended vaccines and the vaccine schedule are the results of years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by the world’s brightest scientists and physicians. When a parent chooses not to vaccinate, they take a significant risk with their child’s health and the health of others around them.
We recognize that there has been controversy surrounding the safety of vaccinations. We are happy to discuss these concerns with you. In some cases, we may alter the vaccine schedule to accommodate your concerns or reservations. In very rare instances, there are medical conditions that can make children ineligible for vaccinations. As partners in your child’s medical care, we will always check to see that your child can be vaccinated safely. We respect that it is your right to choose whether or not to vaccinate your child, however we believe that, unless contraindicated by your physician, vaccines play a critical role in keeping your children and our greater community healthy and safe.
We have therefore decided that, for the safety of the infants and immunocompromised patients in our practice, we will not be accepting patients who choose not to be vaccinated and we will not be allowing patients who do not meet a minimum vaccine requirement to remain in our practice.
Our minimum vaccine requirement for current and prospective patients include: MMR, Chicken Pox, DTaP and the Polio vaccine. Although we highly recommend adhering to the recommended vaccine schedule, as long as these particular vaccinations are up to date, patients may remain in our practice. While all vaccines are important for the health and safety of individual children, we believe that omitting the aforementioned vaccines presents the greatest risk to BOTH individual children and vulnerable children in the community at large.
Financial Policy
Thank you for choosing Pediatrics at the Meadows, P.C. for your child’s medical care. We look forward to partnering with you in your child’s health and development. It is mutually beneficial that you read and understand our office and financial policies. If you have any questions, please let us know.
We are contracted with most insurance companies. It is your responsibility to understand your plan benefits and confirm that our office is in network with your plan. As a courtesy, we will file insurance claims on your behalf.
Newborns must be added to your insurance within 30 days of birth for them to be covered.
In general, there are no copays due for well child check-ups and nurse only visits.
Copays for all other visits are due before services are rendered.
Payment of copays is a part of your contract with your insurance company, and we are required to collect these copays from you. Please provide complete and current insurance information at each visit.
Payment is due at the time services are rendered. We apply a 10% discount for these services for our patients who are self-pay/do not have insurance. Failure to pay any balance in full may result in your account being forwarded to a collection company and dismissal of your children from this practice. You may be responsible for any cost of collection, including court and attorney fees. If you are unable to pay the balance in full, please call us to request a payment arrangement.
We only mail statements out if there is a balance due by you, including deductibles, coinsurance, or non-covered services.
We no longer accept new patients with Medicaid.
If you are a new patient to this practice and change your insurance to Medicaid within the first six months, you will need to transfer care of your child/children to a new physician.
This policy DOES NOT affect current families who are covered by Medicaid and add children or current families that switch to Medicaid coverage.
There will be an additional fee added to visits that occur on Saturdays/Sundays and evenings. You may be responsible for all or part of the fee according to how your insurance company processes this fee.
Insurance
WE ACCEPT MOST INSURANCE CARRIERS
Please contact your insurance to make sure our providers are in-network with your insurance plan. If our providers are not in-network with your insurance plan you may be responsible for the entire visit charge at the time of service.
We DO NOT accept Kaiser insurance.
We are no longer accepting new patients with Medicaid (Health First) insurance.
(This excludes current families adding an additional child)