Office Policies

Office Policies

APPOINTMENTS:

Appointments are made for all new patients, well checkups, rechecks, and sick visits. The number of available well appointments is determined by the time of the year. In the winter time there are fewer well appointment times than in the summer. Please make your well appointment as far in advance as possible. Cancellations should be made at least 24 hours in advance in order to allow us to offer your appointment time to other patients needing care.
Pediatric Medical Associates allows patients to schedule appointments with the Doctor or Nurse Practitioner of their choice.

IN THE CASE OF A LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCY, PLEASE CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.

Pediatric Medical Associates see children from birth to 18 years of age.

Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Office visits are by appointment only. We will try our best to work in walk-ins and additional sick/well visits as time allotments allow.

A parent or legal guardian must accompany all children/teens under the age of 18. The parent/guardian may complete an authorization form for another designated person to seek medical care for their child/children(see Patient Forms). If you are unable to bring your child to the doctor please send a note giving the person accompanying them permission to seek treatment. If you are their legal guardian, bring a copy of their legal paperwork with you for us to put into the child’s medical record.

Well Child checkup schedule:

Newborn 2-3 days after discharge, unless instructed otherwise by your Pediatrician. Then the visits are:
2 weeks, 2 months. 4 months. 6 months
9 months. 12 months. 15 months. 18 months
18 months. 2 years, and yearly checkups thereafter.

Sick Child: If your child is ill and needs to been seen, please call our office number 480.839.4848 for same day appointments Monday through Friday. We see all ill children the same day they call the office to insure immediate attention to your child’s medical needs.

PHONE CALLS:

Calls During Office Hours
All patients are encouraged to call the office at 480.839.4848 with any questions. Phone calls are a major part of any Pediatric Practice. Our office staff can answer many routine non-clinical questions. However, for medical related questions or problems, the non-medical office staff is not able to give any medical advice. Therefore, the Pediatricians, Nurse Practitioners, or Medical Assistants return all medical related questions. If you would like to speak to one of the Doctors or Nurse Practitioners please leave a message and they will return your call when they are available.

If it is an EMERGENCY that you cannot wait for a call back, please inform the office staff. FOR LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES, CALL 9-1-1!

The office telephone 480.839.4848 is answered by a member of Pediatric Medical Associates staff during regular office hours:

  • Monday through Friday 8:30 AM-5:30 PM, with lunch from 12 Noon through 1:30 PM.

Pediatric Medical Associates has the availability for voice messages to be left regarding appointment scheduling, billing & payment questions, Physician/Nurse Practitioner/Medical Assistant call backs, lab/test results, prescription requests. Likewise, our fax number 480.833.8310 is also available to contact our office.

 

After Office Hours Calls
After hours calls should be limited to problems of an acute nature, which require attention before the office reopens. If your child or teenager becomes acutely ill after office hours and you cannot wait until the next morning, please call the office number 480.839.4848. Our phones are answered after hours by Valley Triage. They will take your message, your name, child’s name, and phone number and answer your question. They will call the Doctor on call if needed. They will determine whether he can handle the situation by phone and see you in the office the next morning or whether it will, in fact, be necessary to have your child seen more urgently in the Emergency Room or Pediatric Urgent Care.

While you are waiting for a call after hours, it is recommended to disarm the feature on your phone that does not accept calls from anonymous numbers(unblock your phone number).

Please keep your line open for the Doctor’s return call. If you have not received a return call within 30 minutes of your call, please call back.

The Valley Triage service is able to contact the Pediatrician on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Triage nurses have great experience and training and will be able to answer your medical questions.

If  directed to go to the Emergency Room, their personnel will then contact the Pediatric Medical Associates Pediatrician on call to discuss your child’s medical problem and determine the proper treatment. It is far better to have an ill child assessed by examination in the middle of the night than attempt to diagnose the medical condition over the phone.

 

PRESCRIPTION

It is the policy in the office that no NEW medication is prescribed without the patient being seen in the office. Furthermore, it is the Doctor’s general policy not to phone in antibiotic prescriptions. If your child is sick enough to require an antibiotic, we highly encourage for he or she first to be examined. For chronic conditions, we will be more than happy to fulfill a prescription refill.

Please contact your pharmacy and ask them to fax us a refill request at 480.833.8310 or you may leave a message for the Doctor/Nurse Practitioner at 480.839.4848. Please call in advance if you are running out of medication. Please keep your pharmacy phone number near the phone for when you speak with our office staff or when leaving a message for a prescription refill.

 

BILLING AND PAYMENT

Your Health Plan may require you to pay a co-payment/co-insurance and/or meet a yearly deductible. Pediatric Medical Associates expect these payments at the time of service; be sure that whoever accompanies your child to the office, he or she brings the payment with them. This avoids having to bill you for charges and is very much appreciated.

We accept  checks, credit cards-VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, as well as debit cards.

As stated above, office policy requires co-payments to be paid at the time of the visit. If you are unable to pay at the time of your office visit, then we must receive your payment within two business days. For your convenience, we can accept Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Card payments over the telephone. Please call our Business office at 4808394848.

Co-payments are a contractual obligation between you, your health plan and our practice; if the co-payment obligation is not met, your insurance plan has the right to deny the charges. This may leave you responsible for the services rendered during your visit.

Present your insurance card at check-in to insure that we have the correct insurance on file. It is your responsibility to inform the front office of any changes in our insurance, address, or phone numbers. It is your responsibility to know your insurance coverage and if our provider is a contracted provider. Please let us know if there are any questions of coverage or problems with one of our providers not being listed as a contracted provider prior to your child being seen.

If Pediatric Medical Associates has a contract with your insurance company, as stated above, you will be expected to pay 1) deductible, 2) your percentage of charges as co-insurance, and/or 3) co-pay listed on your insurance card, and any non-covered medical services. The billing department will file the insurance claim with your insurance.

If your insurance requires you to choose a PCP (Primary Care Physician) and we are not listed on your child’s insurance card, you will be required to pay for the visit at the time of service.

If Pediatric Medical Associates does not have a contract with your insurance company, you will be required to pay the visit in full at the time of service. You may file the claim yourself with a copy of the charge slip given to you at checkout.

Patients who have no insurance will be required to pay for the visit in full at the time of service.  To avoid misunderstandings, we encourage you to discuss any financial problems with our Business Office early in the course of treatment.

 

As stated above, the person who brings the child into the office is required to pay any of the above when services are rendered.

You will be required to provide us with the GUARANTOR on your child’s account. The guarantor is the individual who assumes financial responsibility for all payments to the practice. The guarantor is usually the individual listed as the policyholder on the insurance coverage. If through a divorce or separation another party is responsible for the bill, it will be your responsibility to obtain reimbursement from that party.

You will receive a MONTHLY STATEMENT from our office if there is any outstanding balance on your account. Our insurance department is available to help you should you have any questions concerning your balance or your statement. Your statement will provide you with a detailed aging of how long balances have been outstanding. Our policy requires that balances older than 120 days are turned over to a collection agency, which will result in further collection costs incurred to enforce collection of any amounts outstanding.

In many instances your insurance company will require you to provide further information before they will pay an insurance claim. Your insurance company may pend the insurance claim until they have a response from you in order to process the claim. It is very important that you respond to your insurance company in a timely manner to avoid having the balance become your responsibility.

Our Business Office can assist you in setting up a payment plan. For your convenience, we can deduct your monthly payment set up with our Business Office, from your VISA, MASTERCARD, or DISCOVER credit card. Your credit card information will be kept in a secure area and your monthly payment receipt’s will be mailed to your current home address. ONCE YOUR OUTSTANDING BALANCE IS PAID IN FULL, YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION WILL BE SHREDDED. Please contact our Business Office at 4808394848 if you have questions concerning your account or insurance claim.

 

MEDICAL RECORDS

Medical records requests must be made in writing with the legal guardian’s signature authorizing release of the records. If the child is over the age of 18, they must request the records.

We do not charge for records sent to another physician. Shot records can be faxed at parents request at no charge. There is a fee charged for records copied for use by insurance companies determining insurability.

Medical records are retained until your child turns 26. Medical records may be kept at an off-site facility if it has been more than 3 years since being seen in our office. Please notify us far enough in advance of requesting medical records, since your records may be stored off- site. Thank you for your cooperation.

PROFESSIONAL FEES

Our fees are reviewed and updated on a yearly basis. Office visit charges are based on severity of illness; records/labs ordered and/or reviewed, examination, time spent both with patient and reviewing records, and counseling time with parent and/or child.

We are here to serve you and your family. If you have a complaint or suggestion regarding service, personnel, or fees, please let us know. Please help us help you.

INSURANCE PLANS

Each Insurance Plan is unique. Many plans have limits and/or exclusions that apply to your child’s medical care. We recommend that you check with your particular plan in advance to find out what services are covered and how much they will reimburse you for medical expenses. The office accepts the following insurance plans.

Insurance Plans Contracted with Pediatric Medical Associates

Reminder: Please have your insurance card with you at the time of your appointment. If we file your claim, you are responsible for co-payments/co-insurance/deductible/non-covered services at the time of your visit. If we are not a provider for your insurance, or if you are not insured, you may be responsible for the entire charge at the time of service.

INSURANCE PLANS

Each Insurance Plan is unique. Many plans have limits and/or exclusions that apply to your child’s medical care. We recommend that you check with your particular plan in advance to find out what services are covered and how much they will reimburse you for medical expenses. The office accepts the following insurance plans.

Insurance Plans Contracted with Pediatric Medical Associates

Reminder: Please have your insurance card with you at the time of your appointment. If we file your claim, you are responsible for co-payments/co-insurance/deductible/non-covered services at the time of your visit. If we are not a provider for your insurance, or if you are not insured, you may be responsible for the entire charge at the time of service.