*****  June 14, 2013  *****

With many of our patient families asking the same question: "Why am I receiving an additional office visit when my child was in for a well vist?", our billing team would like to share their response:

Most pediatric visits are either referred to as preventative health care or sick visits. These visits are both very important to the medical care of your child and can sometimes happen simultaneously. Historically, insurance companies would not reimburse for simultaneous visits thus requiring the patient to incur a second visit to address the significant illness or parental concern. This method was very difficult for many of our patients! We were relieved when insurance companies began reimbursing for simultaneous preventative health care , as well as sick visits. Some parents found it difficult to reconcile their explanation of benefits (EOB's) as they were unaware of the possible dual charges during one visit. With that in mind, we would like to offer the following explanation:

The preventative well check visit allows the provider to assess your child's physical and emotional health as well as growth,development, nutrition and risk assessment. We encourage parents or guardians to ask questions and discuss concerns, such as nutrition, sleep hygiene, behavioral issues and age appropriate developmental milestones, etc. Occasionally, the provider may order laboratory or screening tests to further assess your child.

If your child has a significant issue or illness at the time of the preventative health care visit, please be aware that it will require extra time and effort to establish a diagnosis and treatment. If that is the case, an extra charge will be incurred and a co-pay may be required. Please contact your insurance company with questions related to coverage of dual visits.  If you anticipate addressing a significant concern during the preventative healthcare visit please contact our office to ensure proper time is scheduled either during the visit or by scheduling an additional visit.

If you have additional questions about the double visit charge, please contact our billing department.

Due to recent reports of Whooping Cough causing an increased number of infant illness and deaths, we are working diligently to protect all family members through two vaccines offered in our office; DTaP and Tdap. Whooping Cough is most dangerous (occasionally fatal) for newborn babies (under 2 months of age) and infants under 6 months of age. If you are around a newborn baby or infant under 6 months of age it is essential that you've had a Tdap vaccine at least once as an adult.

Please schedule your physicals as soon as possible to get the best choice of provider, date, and time!  Please inform our staff if you have other concerns you would like addressed at your visit.