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Our Policies

  • Appointment Policies

We value your time. To avoid prolonged waiting, we recommend that you schedule your appointment in advance. This will assist us in ensuring that your wait time is as short as possible. Keep in mind that some visits will require completion of surveys, lab tests, or administration of medications or vaccinations. With that being said, we are committed to giving you the most appropriate care in an optimal timeframe. If you are late for a scheduled appointment by more than 15 minutes, you may be accommodated as a walk-in patient and the waiting period may be longer.

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We recognize that it is not always possible to schedule an appointment ahead of time. Therefore, we always accept walk-ins. A walk-in may have a slightly longer waiting period and while in the waiting room, if a scheduled patient comes in on time, they may be seen ahead of you.

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For patients less than 18 years, we highly recommend that a parent and guardian be present with you at the time of the visit

 

 

  • After Hours

If you reach our office outside business hours, you will be directed to either leave a voice message or to a call answering service. We will ensure to return your call within the next 1-2 business days. In case of an emergency, please go to the ER or dial 911.

For questions regarding medication refills, follow up requests, mild illnesses, appointments, billing, and so on, our recommendation is that you call us during normal business hours.

 

 

  • Non Discrimination

If you reach our office outside business hours, you will be directed to either leave a voice message or to a call answering service. We will ensure to return your call within the next 1-2 business days. In case of an emergency, please go to the ER or dial 911.

For questions regarding medication refills, follow-up requests, mild illnesses, appointments, billing, and so on, our recommendation is that you call us during normal business hours.

 

  • Physicals: School Physicals / Sport Physicals

We will prefer to do a school physical with your annual well-child examination. If it has been more than 3 months since you were last seen, we will request that you be seen again to double-check your health status. We will conduct your sports physical when requested. Due to different insurance policies, there may be a fee associated with seeing you / completing necessary forms.

 

 

  • Referrals

If you have a health need that requires you to see other specialists apart from us, we will coordinate with you and your insurance company to find the right specialist and to send the referral request as quickly and as seamlessly as possible. For all referrals, one of our providers will have to have seen you within 1 month of the referral.

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We will also coordinate with the referral specialist to make sure that their documentation and recommendations is part of your medical record with us and we will align your care as much as possible to the optimal health of your child.

 

  • Refills

Should your child require a medication refill, please call your pharmacy first to see if there are any refills already pre-ordered. If there is none, please reach out to our office during business hours to have this taken care of. It is recommended that you do not wait till your child medication finishes before getting the refill. We will make your refill request as easy and seamless as possible. However, there are things beyond our control such as changes in your insurance company preferred medications, insurance prior authorization requests, pharmacy stock, and national shortages that influence the availability of certain drugs from time to time. We do not offer refills for patients that we have not seen in the last 3 months. For most refills, we need a 48-hour notification for a refill to be placed. Immediate requests for refills may incur a $25 fee.

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  • No shows and Late Cancellations

Your time is very valuable to us. Once a schedule is booked, we will reserve the time for you in order to provide prompt service. You may cancel up to 48 hours in advance with no fees. If you cancel an appointment in less than 24 hours, we will charge up to $25 for the cancellation after the grace period. The grace period allows a family to have 2 cancellations per calendar year.

 

 

  • School / Work Excuse

We will be happy to provide school/work excuses if your condition warrants it. Please note, that the first day of the school/work excuse will be the day we see you in the office. We do not give school/Work excuses over the phone. The duration of the excuse will vary depending on the condition, expected clinical course, risk of transmission, and so on. We do not provide excuses for visits to the ER, Urgent Care, or other provider offices.

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Other Policies that will be part of your record

 

  • Notice of Patients Privacy Rights

Effective Date of this notice: July 13, 2019

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

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You have the right to:

  •        Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

  •        Ask us to correct your medical record

  •        Request confidential communications

  •        Ask us to limit what we use or share

  •        Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

  •        Get a copy of this privacy notice

  •        Choose someone to act for you

  •        File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

 

  • Assignment of Insurance Benefits

I request that payment of authorized Medicaid and/or other applicable insurance benefits be made on my behalf to Pearls Children’s Clinic for any services furnished to me. By signing below, I authorize any holder and its agents to release my medical and/or other necessary information, which may be needed to determine benefits payable for the Healthcare Financing Administration and/or its agents.

 

  • Authorization to Release Information

I hereby authorize Pearls Children’s Clinic to furnish any medical records and information necessary to other caregiver offices regarding my child’s illness and treatment.

 

  • Newborns

I understand it is my responsibility to ensure that my newborn is promptly added to medical insurance. If my newborn does not have medical insurance by their next visit, I will be responsible for the full balance in full on the date of service and all others following until medical insurance coverage is provided to Pearls Children’s Clinic.

 

  • Billings

We remain focused on our goal of providing timely, quality, and compassionate care for your child. We will attempt to bill your insurance company for our service and collect copays from you at the time of service. If for any reason, there is a discrepancy, our billing agency will be reaching out to you. For any discrepancies, please reach out to your insurance companies first. We will notify you of any outstanding bills and make attempts to collect them as necessary.

 

 

  • Family Separation / Divorce Policy

Our goal is to provide the optimal care for your child. Therefore, we believe that parental issues such as divorce, separation and custody agreements should not interfere with a child’s medical treatment. We do not seek to be part of any parental disputes. We ask that the parent that accompanies the child to the clinic be the responsible party for the care including any payments necessary. We encourage the parents to communicate the recommendations with each other or share the after-visit summary with each other. If the other parent needs an update from the physician, this ends up doubling our efforts and time and another visit to the clinic may be required.

 

  • Joint Policy

Joint Policy requires that each parent has equal access to the child’s medical record. Without a court order, we cannot stop either parent access to the chart or medical records. In the circumstance of joint custody, we will not call the other parent for consent prior to treatment or inform the non-present parent on the assessment and plan of care.

 

  • Virtual Assistant Policy

From time to time, in response to the pandemic, administrative, telemedicine, and other office demands, the clinic may use virtual assistants to help in the provision of care. Irrespective of the modality used, the clinic is committed to protecting your private information as stated in the Federal Health Care information protection act.

 

  • Court Policy

We do not provide court witnesses or get involved with court cases as part of our services. However, if any of our staff members is requested or required to be in court, we do charge a fee on per hour basis and will require that you take care of all our legal and administrative expenses associated with the court cases.

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