APPOINTMENT POLICIES
We operate on an appointment only principal, in an effort to reduce wait times. We
understand that your time is valuable and a walk-in schedule system could create long wait
times. Although we strive to stay on schedule there are certain unforeseen circumstances that
can create a prolonged wait time, and we apologize in advance if you find yourself in that
situation. Please know we will be working diligently to minimize your wait time.
When the appointment has been made and prior to ending the call the staff should restate the
day, the time, and the provider. If that does not happen please request verification to reduce
errors.
We do have multiple providers available to see your child. We do encourage you to see the
same provider each time, to allow you and your child to develop a working relationship with
the provider. This may not always be possible, based on the type of appointment and urgency
of the visit. For example, a well child check can be made well ahead of time, allowing for the
date, time and place, as well as the provider, to be selected. However, for a sick visit this may
not be the case, and any of our providers are able to see your child and to provide appropriate
treatment. But in either case please contact us as soon as you know that your child needs to
be seen and we will strive to make the arrangement that best suits you and your child’s needs.
As a courtesy, we have an automated system that will call the main number on file in the
patient’s chart to remind you of the appointment 24 hours prior. This call will contain the
name of the provider, the date and time of the appointment. This will allow you 24 hours to
cancel or reschedule the appointment as needed. Obviously, if you made the appointment and
there is less than 24 hours between the scheduling and the actual appointment time, no
reminder call will be made.
Missed or Cancelled Appointments
Appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice to the practice will
be charged a $35 fee. We do not ‘double’ book appointments, except in the case of extreme
situations; therefore, each appointment is held exclusively for your child. If you do not notify
us in an appropriate time frame we are unable to provide care for another patient in your
child’s place. Although we do have a courtesy notification system in place it is not fail proof,
based on technical issues. If you do not receive the courtesy call and the appointment is
missed the fee will still be applied to your child’s account.
Three missed/cancelled/late appointments can result in your child’s discharge from the
practice.
Arriving Late for Appointments
Our appointments are scheduled to allow the staff and the providers the necessary time
required to adequately prepare your child for the provider, for the provider to examine your
child, to allow for discussion of your child’s condition, and to provide treatment information
to you as needed. For this process to work efficiently and effectively, you must arrive on time
(which is 15 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time) for the appointment. FOR
NEW PATIENTS: Please arrive 30 minutes prior to scheduled visit time to allow for
completion of Initial Visit paperwork. This allows time to complete the check in process and
for the completion of any necessary paperwork required for the visit.
If you are late for your appointment, we may not be able to accommodate you and we may
need to reschedule. This decision will be made based on the other existing appointments at
that time. Please call us immediately if you think you may be late so we can discuss options
with you at that time and may prevent you from being inconvenienced by coming to the
office only to find you will need to reschedule.
This situation will create a ‘missed appointment’, regardless of whether we are able to
reschedule you at that time or not. Therefore the ‘missed appointment’ fee will apply.
Adding Siblings to Existing Appointments
If you have a scheduled sick visit appointment for a child and another child in the family has
become ill, please call us immediately to see if we can accommodate the second child at the
same appointment. This decision will be made based on the availability of the provider. We
will make every attempt to see your sick children without requiring a return visit, but we
cannot guarantee this. Under no circumstances will this be done for well child visits.