Office Policies
Sick & Well Entrances
Sick and Well Visits
Missed or Cancelled Appointments
Add On Sibling Sick Visits
Appointments
Chronic Conditions / Consultations
Phone Calls
Advice Line
Email Advice Line
After Hours and Emergencies
Referral To Specialists / Testing
Medical Records
Form Policy
Sick & Well Entrances
We offer separate sick and well entrances and reception areas at all three of our locations. We ask that you limit the number of guests that accompany you and your child on an office visit. Seating is limited in our reception area and your guests might be exposed to illnesses.
Please do not leave children unattended in the reception areas. We request that you not bring food or beverages (other than formula) into the office.
All three locations provide a smoke free environment. Smoking is prohibited anywhere inside the facility.
If you suspect your child is ill to any degree please be considerate and keep your child in the sick reception area. If you think your child has chicken pox and needs to be seen, please discuss entry into the facility with each location staff prior to coming in.
We do not keep toys in the reception areas because they are not practical with the many sick children we see throughout the day. The risk of transmission of germs is too great. We tidy up and disinfect our reception areas twice a day. We encourage you to bring your child's favorite books or small toy to help them be entertained and more comfortable during the visit. We also provide TV viewing rooms with movies for the kids to watch.
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The appointment time for sick children is shorter than for well child visits. If your child is already scheduled for a well visit but happens to be sick we can usually still do the check-up. If your child is scheduled for a sick visit we usually do not have time that day to do a full check-up.
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Missed or Cancelled Appointments
Check-up, Consultation, and Nutritionist appointments that are missed or not cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time, will be charged a missed appointment fee of $75.00.
Your appointment time is reserved exclusively for you and your Child. Please be considerate of others - if you miss your appointment or cancel at the last minute, we will be unable to care for another patient in your child's place. As a courtesy, we make appointment reminder calls. However, should you not receive this courtesy call and the appointment is missed, the charge will still apply.
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Our schedule allows for several work-in slots every day to accommodate our patient’s needs. If you have a scheduled sick visit for one child and feel another child in your family needs to be seen, please call ahead so we can review the practitioners schedule to make sure the time is available.
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We see our patients by appointment so we can see your child with the least wait time. We will always see your child if necessary. We will make every effort to see your child on time, because we know your time is as valuable as ours. Below are some suggestions and guidelines that will help you to understand our systems and allow us to serve you more effectively.
Should we have an emergency and are unable to see you as scheduled, we will let you know as soon as possible so you can have the option to reschedule the appointment. Other situations that cause the wait to be longer:
- illness that requires extra time
- scheduling errors- patient goes to wrong location
- patients are late or add another child at the office
- walk-in patients, unless an emergency, will be charged an additional fee.
As hard as we try, we cannot always predict the needed amount and/or duration of appointment times correctly. The volume and degree of illness is not always predictable. You can help us schedule the appropriate appointment time for your child by giving our staff the purpose of the visit, and the specific nature of your concerns. Please mention if you want tests performed or discussed at the visit. We may recommend that you speak with our advice line to discuss what type of visit is needed.
When you call and schedule an appointment we will repeat back to you the day, time, practitioner, and service location to try to cut down on errors. We also confirm all check-ups and consultations the day before your appointment. If for some reason you do not hear from us the day before please call us.
Even though we are a group practice we will encourage you to see the same practitioner in our group. We get to know you and your child, and you get to know us. If you plan ahead for well care visits you will be able to get the appointment time you want with the practitioner you prefer. On urgent visits, if your regular practitioner is not available, another practitioner is always available to see your child. Please call us as soon as you think your child might need to be seen so we can accommodate your schedule to the best of our ability.
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Chronic Conditions / Consultations
If your child has a chronic, ongoing situation we may need to schedule a longer, consultation type appointment. Examples: headaches, stomach problems, behavior concerns, new patient with a chronic illness (asthma, diabetes). Please leave a message for our advice line to call you back and discuss the situation so we can book the appointment appropriately.
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We receive many calls each day, and we do our best to answer each call as quickly as possible. We take questions regarding appointments, prescription refills, insurance, etc. during normal office hours. Here are some tips to help you save time.
- Tell the receptionist briefly what you need, an appointment, talk with an advice line; check on test results, etc.
- Any questions that can wait until your child’s routine check up please write down and bring with you to the check up appointment.
- To minimize delays in processing your non-urgent calls, avoid our busiest hours, which are early morning and after school. You may experience more difficulty getting through on Monday and Tuesday.
- You may be asked if you can wait on hold. If this is not convenient, please tell the receptionist that you will call back later.
- Consider using our online services for non urgent appointment request and for non urgent advice.
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Advice Line
Our staff has been trained to handle many of your questions and will be happy to assist you. They can help you decide if your child needs to be seen in the office or if there is something you might try at home first. If your child is ill please take her/his temperature so we can help you more quickly. Our receptionist will take all of your pertinent information, enter it into our Electronic Health Record and have the advice line call you back. Our goal is to return messages within one hour. Occasionally, during peak periods we may prioritize calls by urgency and return non-urgent calls within four hours. For example, feeding problems or a question about a camp form may be delayed. We will attempt to return all calls at least twice by the end of the day. If you do not receive a return call from us within a reasonable amount of time, please call us back.
If your question requires the attention of a practitioner one will call you back as soon as possible. Practitioners return phone calls after they finish seeing patients. If your call is urgent we suggest you have the Advice Line be your liaison between the practitioner and yourself.
Our Advice Line staff also performs minor visits, including allergy injections and metabolic screenings on newborns. We schedule these appointments to serve you more efficiently and to avoid wait times. Our Advice Line staff also assists parents with referrals to specialists and/or for outside testing.
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Our office provides secure communication through email for non urgent advice. Please click here to email our advice staff your non urgent medical question. If you do not receive a response by the end of the next business day please call our office.
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After Hours and Emergencies
If you believe you have a life threatening emergency dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. When an urgent need arises after our scheduled office hours, you can reach our practitioner on-call through our answering service at our three main office numbers: 770-343-9900 / 770-751-0800 / 770-888-2882. Your call will be answered and appropriate recommendations will be made. After hour calls will be forwarded to a specially trained nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Please have a pharmacy number available when calling. If we feel that your child needs to be evaluated, we prefer to use the emergency room at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
We have found that answering services and beeper companies are not flawless. If your after hours call is not returned in a reasonable amount of time, please call the service back and let them know this is the second time you have called.
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Referral To Specialists / Testing
We can help you find a specialist and/or an outside testing facility and will work closely with them to care for your child's needs. Our practitioners will help you decide when a specialist or outside testing is necessary. Depending on the situation you can discuss your needs with your practitioner when you are in the office, or you may want to call and discuss the situation with a phone nurse.
It is your responsibility to know if you need a referral and the time requirements. Most insurance cards have the information on the back of the card or a phone number you can call to find out the information. We need a week to obtain non-urgent referrals and will obtain emergency room referrals within the time period you specify. If you go to the emergency room, please call our office on the first business day following the ER visit and ask us to obtain the referral or you may click here to request a referral online. The practitioner’s on-call do not keep track of calls for referral purposes.
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New patients should bring copies of their prior medical records for their first visit with our practice. We will enter the data and scan the records into your child’s Electronic Health Record and return the paper copies to you.
If your child receives care out of town or after hours from another practitioner, please bring a copy of the visit, or ask them to mail / fax a copy so we can keep your child's medical record complete.
Even though we have three locations available, we will encourage you to see your primary practitioner at whatever location is most convenient for you. Although our practitioner’s rotate between locations, they will still have access to your child’s medical records with our Electronic Health Record system.
As we see your child for well care we will provide you with an update on your child’s immunization records and growth and development data. This record is important to keep at home. From time to time you may need these records when our office is not available. Your child’s medical records are maintained with strict adherence to patient confidentiality laws. You may, with a written, signed request, obtain copies of your child’s medical records. Whether the copy is for you or for another physician we will forward the records, a reasonable number of times, at no charge. We usually require 10 business days notice to prepare your records. We recommend you pick up your records and take them to your new physician if you are moving.
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Form Policy
At some point you will likely require a form to be completed for your child. We request that you bring these forms to your child's well visit, and we will be happy to complete them free of charge with the exception of Katie Beckett forms. However, any form (other than Katie Beckett forms) submitted at other times will require a payment of $10 per form at the time of the request. Due to the complexity of Katie Beckett forms there will now be a $25 fee. This fee does NOT apply to 3231 immunization forms, allergy or asthma action plans, medication forms, state required forms, and insurance required forms.
In addition as a result of HIPPA regulations, we require a singed release of information in order to complete these forms. We appreciate your patience as we complete your forms.
Please allow us 3-5 business days. Once completed, we can have the forms available for you to pick up at the office or we can return the forms to you by mail (with a self addressed stamped envelope) or by fax.
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