Office Policies
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Appointments
Please make 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. There is a charge for late cancellations and for patients who do not show up to their scheduled appointments.
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. 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 2-5 days after discharge
2 weeks
2 months
4 months
6 months
9 months
12 months
15 months
18 months
2 years
Yearly checkups thereafter
Phone Calls:
We answer calls during our regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm. If you receive a voicemail message during this time, we are either with a patient or assisting another caller. Please leave a message and we will return your call. There is no reason to call multiple times back to back, as we consider this to be disruptive behavior.
After Hours
For routine issues, such as scheduling appointments or minor illnesses, you can leave a message on the after-hours voicemail, which will be returned the next business day. For established patients who are having an urgent issue after hours that can not wait until the next business day, and they need to reach the doctor on call, you can reach the doctor through a process that is explained on the after hours voicemail message.
FOR ALL LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES, CALL 9-1-1
For Severe Mental Health Issues, Call 8-1-1
We maintain a general email address, however this is not to be used to contact our office for urgent issues. This is best suited for short questions or to schedule appointments or request lab results. Messages are checked every day or so. Although we have taken the necessary steps to secure our email server, there is still the possibility of lost data, messages being routed to those other than the intended recipient, or messages being intercepted maliciously. E-mail should never contain social security numbers, credit card number, passwords, or bank account information.
Prescriptions
It is our policy that no NEW medication is prescribed without the patient being seen, this includes antibiotics. 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 877-991-6652, or you may leave a message at 480-485-5166. Please call in advance if you are running out of a medication. Please leave your pharmacy phone number when leaving a message for a prescription refill. It is easier to find the correct pharmacy based on the phone number rather than a general location such as the cross streets. Please know your pharmacy’s hours, especially if the prescription will be picked up at night or on the weekend.
Billing And Payment
Your Health Insurance Plan may require you to pay a co-payment/co-insurance and/or meet a yearly deductible. 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. We expect these payments at the time of service. Be sure that whoever accompanies your child to the office, brings payment with them. If payment is not available at the time of service, a well-child visit will be rescheduled. If payment for a sick visit is not received within 2 days, we will begin proceedings for dismissing the family from the practice.
We accept cash, checks, major credit cards and debit cards, including FSA/HSA cards, ApplePay, GooglePay, Venmo, Zelle, Paypay, and Cash App.
Present your insurance card at check-in to insure that we have the correct insurance on file. It is your responsibility to inform the office of any changes in your insurance, address, or phone numbers. It is your responsibility to know your insurance coverage and if our provider is a contracted provider. Prior to your child being seen, please let us know if there are any questions about coverage or if our provider is not listed with your insurance plan. If we have a contract with your insurance company, you will be expected to pay 1) deductible, 2) your percentage of charges as co-insurance or a co-pay, and 3) any non-covered medical services.
If we are not contracted with your insurance company, or your child does not have insurance, you will be required to pay the visit in full at the time of service. We do not offer payment plans. If you would like to file a claim with your insurance company for reimbursement, please request a SuperBill, also known as a HCFA form 1500 from the office. In many instances your insurance company will require you to provide further information before they will pay a claim. And there are often restrictions on how long you can take to file a claim.
Professional Fees
Our fees are reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Office visit charges are based on severity of illness, labs and tests ordered, medical records reviewed, examination, time spent both with patient and reviewing records, and counseling time with parent and/or child.
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. There is a fee charged for records copied for use by insurance companies determining insurability and for personal use.
Disruptive/Abusive Behavior
While we have created an environment where parents can also feel comfortable discussing opposing or unpopular viewpoints, pushing your particular viewpoint on others in the practice in order to convince them you are right and they are wrong will not be tolerated. Non-constructive criticism will also not be tolerated, whether written, verbal, or posted online. Any behavior we feel is disruptive to the practice or against our principles is cause for immediate dismissal. Any corporal punishment we suspect or witness will be immediately reported to the authorities, in accordance with our legal duty to report such abuse. We pride ourselves in having created a place where families can feel safe, secure, and supported. Any challenge to that will not be tolerated.
