Print This PageNew Patients
Welcome to Advocare Morristown Pediatric Associates! The information below is intended to help you learn more about our practice and ensure the best possible patient experience. We are glad to answer any questions you may have as you become familiar with our office policies.
NEWBORN ENROLLMENT: Enrolling your newborn with your insurance provider is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure accurate billing. Please call Linda Carleton at 973.540.9393, ext. 118 and have your insurance card available at the time of your call. If your child is enrolled in a managed care plan, contact your insurance company and provide them with the name of your child's primary care physician. Please note that enrollment must be completed within 30 days from your newborn's date of birth.
OFFICE HOURS AND APPOINTMENTS: We see patients by appointment only. Understanding that your child can suddenly become ill and need immediate medical attention, we make every effort to accommodate our patients' needs. Visits without an appointment are not recommended as unscheduled visits typically do not allow enough time for the medical provider to provide the care that your sick child deserves. Unscheduled visits also take time and attention away from patients who have scheduled appointments. However, if you feel that your child must be seen immediately, call our office and speak to one of our staff members who will provide you with appointment based on your child's condition.
We are open Monday through Saturday with availability for early morning and evening appointments. The office does not close for lunch and we often meet patients in the office on Sunday mornings for emergency appointments.
WELL CHILD CHECKUPS: Please schedule well-child visits with enough advance time to ensure you secure the physician and time you desire. Because after school, evening, and Saturday appointments are in high demand, please call well in advance to schedule a visit during one of these times. We often reserve visits during the morning hours for infants due to the frequency of visits required and inability to schedule infant appointments far in advance.
Routine health maintenance visits, immunizations and screening tests are scheduled according to the following recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics:
|
|
SICK VISITS: Appointments are available daily for patients who are acutely ill. If your child is having a problem, please call as early in the day as possible in order for us to schedule your child for the next available appointment time. Arrangements will be made to see your child that same day, or, if necessary, our triage nursing staff or one of the providers will contact you by telephone to relay instructions.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS/"NO SHOW" POLICY: If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please give us as much notice as possible. A $25 fee may be assessed for missed or cancelled well child checkups and annual physical appointments not cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled visit. Thank you for your cooperating with our policy.
TELEPHONE SYSTEM: In order to optimally manage the flow of incoming calls, we use an automated attendant. Please follow the menu prompts, or enter the appropriate extension to reach the party you desire. For specific extensions, please see the Contact Us page on our website. For urgent medical matters during regular business hours, you may press "O" at any time to reach one of our staff members.
AFTER HOURS COVERAGE: We provide our patients with 24 hour coverage throughout the year. To reach one of our physicians after hours, please call, 800.883.6455. You may leave a message for a physician, nurse, or receptionist which will be answered during the next business day. If you would like to leave a message for the on-call physician, choose option 2 from our After Hours menu and we will respond within one to two hours. Please limit calls to the answering service to medical problems requiring immediate attention.
FOR NON URGENT/NON MEDICAL CALLS: Should you need to reach us for non-urgent, non-medical matters such as scheduling appointments or billing questions, please leave a message on our answering machine and we will return your call within one to two hours from the time the office opens.
HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: Our physicians maintain admitting privileges at Morristown Medical Center, the flagship hospital of Atlantic Health Systems. Recently, AHS added the Gorayeb Children's Hospital, a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility located on Morristown Medical Center's campus.
One of our physicians is at the hospital daily beginning with an 8 a.m. visit to the nursery. From there we visit the maternity floor to check on our patients. After completing our nursery/maternity rounds, we go to The Gorayeb Children's Hosptial to visit with our in-patients.
The Gorayeb Children's Hospital is a teaching facility that attracts high quality residents from some of the best medical programs in the country. Pediatric residents follow all hospitalized infants and children under the supervision of a private attending physician. This ensures that all children have the attention of an on-site physician 24 hours a day.
HEALTH FORMS/SHOT RECORDS: We are happy to complete forms for shot records, school, or camp if your child has been seen in our practice for a complete well checkup within the past year. There is a fee of $5 per form for this service (no fee is charged to obtain a copy of your child's immunization records if a completed medical form is not needed). Please note your child's name and birth date legibly on each form and complete all sections. Let the staff know if any special tests or requirements are needed. As our providers cannot process and complete the form during your visit, allow up to two weeks for your forms to be completed. All forms must be picked upon completion unless you provide us with a self-addressed stamped envelope to return the forms to you. Please note that we do not fax forms.
REFERRALS: Most managed care insurance plans require referrals if you are seeking care from anyone other than your primary care provider. Please check with your insurance company to determine if a referral is needed. To request a referral for your child, leave a message on extension 109 with the following information: child's name (spell the last name), one phone number where you can be reached, the name of your insurance company, the name of the specialist you are being referred to, the time and date of your appointment, and the reason for your visit. A minimum of 48 hours is needed to complete referral requests. Please pick up your referral as soon as possible after the 48 hour preparation period. We do not fax or backdate referrals. If you would like your referral mailed directly to you, please provide a self-addressed stamped envelope.
LABS, RADIOLOGY, SPECIALISTS & HOSPITAL SERVICES: Please contact your insurance company to verify the status of network participation by specialists, facilities, labs, or in-hospital services for your specific plan. We do the very best we can to assure you use high quality facilities and see physicians who deliver the best quality care. We cannot assume responsibility for network participation as it changes on a daily basis.
INSURANCE: Final responsibility for all medical bills remains that of the patients' family. We participate in many insurance plans, including numerous managed care plans. Please contact your insurance company if you have any questions regarding our participation in your plan or any questions regarding your insurance company's coverage. Remember to present your insurance card and co-pay at each visit. If we do not receive your updated information, you may be responsible for paying in full for all services rendered. If you have not added your newborn to your insurance plan within 30 days of his or her birth, you child will not be covered by your insurance for routine or sick baby visits after the first 30 days.
CO-PAYS: All co-pays are due at the time of service. Please be aware that you may be charged an additional $10 for co-pays not paid on the same day as your child's visit. We accept cash, checks, and credit cards.
TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RECORDS: If you are joining our practice please contact your former physician for the policy and procedure regarding transferring your child's medical records. If you wish to transfer your records to another practice, $10 charge per child and a signed letter of authorization is required. You may hand deliver, mail or fax this request to our office. When the request is complete you may pick up your records, or we are glad to mail the records to you or the new physician's office. We do not fax medical records.
OTHER SERVICES
Laboratory Tests: Our laboratory facilities include the ability to perform urinalysis, rapid "strep" tests, and "strep" cultures. If we are unable to perform a specific test in our office, we will refer you to a laboratory facility in the community.
Immunizations: We follow the standard immunization schedule provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and administer the vaccines in our office. In addition, we can administer allergy injections using serum provided by your allergist. Most injections will be administered by one of our nurses.