OFFICE POLICIES

 

Missed Appointments
It is our goal to accommodate any child that requires medical attention. This at times can be difficult due to scheduling. We ask at all parents please notify our office as early as possible if you need to cancel an appointment. If a scheduled appointment is missed, you will be billed $35.00 for each offense. By canceling the appointment in a timely fashion you create an opportunity for another child to be seen. We thank you in a advance for your cooperation.

 

Late For An Appointment

The practitioners of Mid-Jersey Pediatrics make every attempt to maintain a timely schedule. This is not always possible. We believe that it is of the utmost importance to give our full attention to each patient and family and assure that all questions and concerns are addressed. This may sometimes cause a slight delay. In trying to maintain our schedule, some difficulty may arise when a patient arrives late. We understand that the reasons may be numerous. Again we ask for the courtesy of calling our office, notifying us that there is a delay and providing an approximate time of arrival. If you will be more than 30 minutes late for your scheduled well-child appointment, your practitioner will be informed and he/she will determine whether it is better to have the appointment rescheduled for later the same day or for another day.

 

Call Center Fee

When our office is closed, we direct all calls to the St. Peter's University Hospital Pediatric Call Center. This center features well-trained pediatric registered nurses who are available to answer any of your questions and concerns. They will triage your calls and determine whether your child requires prompt or emergency medical attention, routine health advice or the need to speak with our physician on call. For many years, this wonderful service was provided free of charge by the hospital. Changes in health care finances have redirected this cost to each individual practice. In order to continue to provide this important resource, we must charge each patient $5.00 for use of the call center. Please keep in mind that the practice still pays the majority of the fees. We are simply asking our families to help subsidize this expense.

 

School, Sports & Camp Forms/Working Papers

Parents receive numerous forms throughout the year from their child's school or extracurricular activities. We are happy to complete these forms however the increasing number of forms have added a significant amount of paperwork for our staff.  The fee for each form is $5.00.  Forms can be dropped off at any time. Our staff will complete these forms within seven days. Please provide us with as much lead time as possible. This will ensure that your forms are completed in a timely fashion. In order for forms to be completed, your child must have had a well child exam or annual physical within the past 365 days. This policy exists to ensure that there has not been a change in your child's health status that would pose a health risk during any activities. Please pay close attention to all special dates and deadlines that may be required by the sanctioning body of the activity. For example some forms require that child have a well child exam after a specific date. If that date occurs before your child's next scheduled well child exam, a sports physical may be required.

 

Vaccine Separation Policy

It is neither the recommendation of the office nor the American Academy of Pediatrics not to give the vaccines one at a time. We feel that it is better to immunize the children on the recommended schedule but will try to accommodate requests for an individualized schedule. We encourage you to review the facts and make an educated decision.  If you should still feel the need to separate vaccines, we will accommodate your requests, but you will be charged for a nurse visit. All insurance rules of copays, deductibles and out of pocket expenses will apply.

 

Office Tours

Please call our office and ask to speak with our office tour coordinator, Jean Stelicos.