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| 1. What are your office hours? | ||
| 2. Is there anyone to answer my questions during the day? | ||
| 3. Who do I talk to at night or on weekends? | ||
| 4. If I need to be seen after hours, where will you send me and how does that work? | ||
| 5. Which Provider will I see? | ||
| 6. Who will see my newborn in the hospital? | ||
| 7. To which hospital do you admit patients? | ||
| 8. What labs or other tests do you do in the office? | ||
| 9. What is your philosophy on breastfeeding vs bottle feeding? | ||
| 10. What is your opinion on circumcision? | ||
| 11. How long is the waiting room time? | ||
| 12. Do you call in prescriptions? | ||
| 13. What insurance plans do you accept? | ||
| 14. What is the immunization schedule? | ||
| 15. What is your philosophy on immunizations? | ||
| 16. What is your philosophy on antibiotics? | ||
| 17. What do I do after my baby is born? When is our first visit? | ||
| 18. How long do I have to wait to get an appointment? | ||
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1. What are your office hours? Summer Hours: Scheduled appointments from Memorial Day thru Labor Day are: Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 4:50 PM for well and sick care. Fall, Winter, and Spring Hours: Scheduled appointments for sick patients only on Saturday mornings from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon. The office doors open at 8:20 AM Monday thru Saturday to expedite check-in. Lunch: We close the office and turn the phones over to our answering service from 12 Noon to 1:30 PM Monday thru Friday. The office doors re-open at 1:20 PM after lunch. The phones are answered from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon and 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Even though we are seeing patients in the Fall, Winter, Spring until 7:30 PM Monday thru Thursday, the phone schedulers go home at 4:30 PM. |
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2. Is
there anyone to answer my questions during the day? We no longer have a full-time Telephone Advice Nurse. Most major insurance companies offer 24 hour nurse advice-(see the phone number on the back of your child's insurance card-and many use Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Phone Nurses.) When you call, our receptionist can tell you if the RN phone nurse is working that day. The receptionist will ask you to leave a voice mail for the RN. Please DO NOT call if it is an emergency- call 911, or go to the nearest Emergency Department. If the problem is urgent, say so to the receptionist and the message will be marked "Urgent". Non-Urgent Calls received after 4:00 PM may receive a call back the next business day. For Urgent calls before the office opens in the morning, during lunch, after 5:00 PM or on weekends or holidays, please call our answering service at 770 507-0018.Back To Top |
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3.
Who do I talk to at night or on weekends?
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4.
If I need to be seen after hours, where will you send me and
how does that work?
First, contact the provider on call via the answering service. We will discuss your child’s symptoms with you, along with home management options that might save you a trip to the emergency room. In the event that things cannot be managed at home, we will direct you to one of the local emergency rooms. Back To Top |
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5.
Which Provider Will I See? All our physicians and our nurse practitioners share all our patients, so you may not see the same provider at each visit. We find that this allows you to get earlier appointments and actually facilitates continuity of care, because more than one provider will be familiar with your child. Also, it is nice for you (and us) to put a face to a name during evening phone calls. Back To Top |
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6.
Who will see my newborn in the hospital? Our physicians are on staff to see newborns at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, Fayetteville, and Southern Regional Medical Center. Just tell the labor and delivery personnel that you have chosen ABC Pediatrics, and they will notify us when your baby is born. Whichever physician is on call will see your baby within 24 hours. Babies born at other hospitals are usually seen by a staff pediatrician there. Back To Top |
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7.
To which hospital do you admit patients? We have admitting privileges at Piedmont Fayette Hospital and Southern Regional Medical Center. If your child’s illness is more severe than we think the staffs at the local hospitals can handle, we have associate privileges and will refer you to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where your child would be cared for by the staff pediatricians. Back To Top |
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8.
What labs or other tests do you do in the office? We can do basic urine screens, strep tests, mono tests, flu tests, and complete blood counts red blood cells (anemia) and white blood cells (infections). In addition, we are able to collect and send out cultures on blood, urine, and throat swabs, as well as collecting blood for newborn MDT tests and lead screens. For more involved blood tests, we will use the outpatient labs at Piedmont Fayette Hospital or Southern Regional Medical Center. Some insurance companies require that your child only go to Quest or LabCorp Outpatient Laboratories. Each parent needs to be familiar with the requirements of their individual insurance plan. Back To Top |
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9.
What is your philosophy on breastfeeding vs bottle feeding? We encourage all mothers to breast feed. Even if you only breast feed one day, your baby will receive benefit. If you choose to breast feed, then make sure you inform the labor and delivery staff that you want to breast feed in the delivery room. This is often when your baby will be most alert and ready to feed for that first day. We have many patients who, for various reasons, are on baby formula. There are some very good baby formulas available, and we will work with you to determine which is best for your baby. Back To Top |
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10.
What is your opinion on circumcision? Whether or not to have this procedure done is usually a religious or cultural decision. There may be some evidence that circumcision helps avoid some diseases in adulthood, but this is not universally supported. Circumcision may be performed in the hospital prior to discharge by the obstetrician or in our office up to four weeks of age. Back To Top |
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11.
How long is the waiting room time? Great question! This depends on you arriving on time! as well as time of year (winter is busier), time of day (after-school hours are busier), well vs sick, number of providers (is someone on vacation?), and severity of illness (have we gotten backed up giving three different patients breathing treatments or admitting children to the hospital?). We feel we have very reasonable wait times, typically 10 to 25 minutes. A computer in each exam room shows us exactly how many minutes everyone has been sitting in the lobby, so it keeps us on our toes, while we strive to minimize your waiting. If you are going to be late, please call us so we can attempt to reschedule you. If you arrive late you will have to wait to be worked into the schedule later. Back To Top |
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12.
Do you call in prescriptions? Our nurse can fax or call in refills on certain medications, such as those for allergies or asthma. Refills may be requested three ways: having your pharmacy fax us a refill request (this is the fastest way), by online request from this web site (click here), or by leaving a voice mail on our prescription refill line which has a turnaround time of one business day. Back To Top |
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13.
What insurance plans do you accept?
We accept most major plans. Please click here to see a list of the health insurance plans we currently accept, or call our office, for confirmation. We are not accepting new Medicaid, new Wellcare or new Peachstate patients at this time. We do not participate in Amerigroup. If you have Medicaid Insurance and have a child or children who are currently in our practice, please contact our Practice Administrator. Also, we deal with literally hundreds of different insurance policies. It is your responsibility to know what your policy covers and what it does not. Also the amount of your copay, deductable, co-insurance and which labs are in network for your policy. Back To Top |
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14.
What is the immunization schedule? We follow the immunization schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children and adolescents which can be found on their web site, www.aap.org. Also on our website under Well Care. You don’t need to memorize this complicated schedule. At each checkup, we will let you know which vaccines will be due at your next visit. Back To Top |
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15.
What is your philosophy on immunizations? We believe that immunizations are beneficial to your child’s health and a critical protection for the other children in our community! The United States Food and Drug Administration has a very meticulous regimen for approving vaccines, and we feel that they have approved vaccines which are safe, effective, and protect both our children and others in our community from many serious diseases. Vaccines, like any medicine, have potential side effects; however, we feel that the benefits of disease prevention far outweigh the risks of side effects. We encourage parents to be informed by reading reliable information about vaccines. (Not all information on the Internet is reliable). Some links you may find useful include: www.cdc.gov or www.aap.org or www.immunizationinfo.org Back To Top |
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16. What is your
philosophy on Antibiotics? There are many symptoms which may prompt you to inquire about the need for an antibiotic: earache, burning with urination, green nasal discharge, red sore throat, deep cough. Remember, these symptoms may reflect either viral or bacterial disease processes. They require an examination, and often laboratory or x-ray tests, to determine if an antibiotic is actually required. We do not phone in antibiotics without seeing your child. Back To Top |
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17.
What do I do after my baby is born? When is our first visit? In this era of early hospital discharge of newborns, we recommend seeing most babies in the first week. The physician who sees your baby in the hospital should let you know how soon to come in to the office. All babies receive a metabolic disease test (called MDT or PKU) prior to hospital discharge. If this test is performed before your baby is 24 hours old, we will repeat this test at that first visit. Remember, even if you have a scheduled normal newborn visit, if your baby shows signs of jaundice or poor feeding prior to that visit, please schedule a sick appointment as soon as possible. Back To Top |
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18.
How long do I have to wait for an appointment? For sick visits, we do our best to see you the same day you call. Occasionally in the winter, we will need to schedule you the next day. Well appointments are scheduled with a specific provider, and the wait time varies per provider, usually anywhere from two to six weeks. Our nurse practitioners usually have openings within one to two weeks, which is great for those “emergency” physicals for sports or camp. Back To Top |
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(c) 2007 ABC Pediatrics • 735 S. Glynn
Street, Fayetteville, GA 30214
Phone: 770-461-4126 • Fax: 770-461-8852