FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

Answers to these frequently asked questions are intended to provide brief information relevant to your child's health. If you would like to speak with us regarding any of these topics, do not hesitate to call us.

Q: How do I prepare for my appointment?
Q: What days are you open?
Q: Are you accepting new patients?
Q: Will I need a referral to your office?
Q: How do we contact the doctor after hours?
Q: May I request a specific pediatric neurologist for my visit?
Q: Do you accept my health insurance plan?
Q: When will I receive lab or test results?
Q: How do I obtain a prescription refill?
Q: What happens during a neurological consultation?
Q: What should I bring to our appointment?
Q: What are your hospital affiliations?
Q: How do I request my child's medical records?
Q: What is a pediatric neurologist?
Q: What types of disorders do pediatric neurologists diagnose and treat?
Q: What is an EEG?
Q: What is a video-EEG?
Q: What is a concussion?
Q: What is a seizure?
Q: What is epilepsy?

Q: How do I prepare for my appointment?

A: Prior to your first visit, please:

1. Create an Account and complete the Online Patient Record form. Be sure to carefully complete all the pages from beginning to end, and to provide detailed responses for questions #1 and #2. Include a thorough description of your child's problem, when it started, how it developed, the degree to which it affects your child, which tests have been performed, and your main concern. When you finish completing the form, DO NOT click PRINT. Click SUBMIT to ensure that the form reaches your doctor. You may then print out the document if you wish.
2. Visit Forms to print and complete the Patient Registration Form and the HIPAA Acknowledgement Form in advance and bring them to the office during your first visit.
3. While on the Forms page please review our practice philosophy and procedures. You may download and print these forms at your convenience if you wish.
4. If your main concern is your child's headaches, you may choose to print out a Headache Diary. Use it to keep a record of your child's headache for a period of time, and bring it your first visit.
5. If your concern is attention problems, complete the Vanderbilt Assessment Scale – PARENT form and consider asking your child's teachers to complete the Vanderbilt Assessment Scale - TEACHER form. Although these forms are optional, we often find them helpful in making a diagnosis. Please bring these forms to your first visit.

• Q: What days are you open?

  A: Our office is open Monday through Friday. As our daily schedule is subject to change, please call to confirm office hours.

• Q: Are you accepting new patients?

  A: Yes, we welcome new patients.

• Q: Will I need a referral to your office?

  A: A referral is required for all managed care insurance plans, including Horizon HMO, Horizon POS, Aetna HMO, Aetna POS, AmeriHealth HMO, and Keystone HMO. The back of your insurance card should help you determine if you need a referral.

• Q: How do we contact the doctor after hours?

  A: Our medical providers are available 24 hours a day. Call the office at (973) 993-8777 and follow the prompts to page a provider on call. Please be aware that after-hours calls are intended for urgent medical issues that cannot wait until the next business day. Referral and appointment requests will not be addressed via pager. Pages are typically returned within 15 minutes. Please call back if you have not received a timely response.

  IN THE EVENT OF A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

• Q: May I request a specific pediatric neurologist for my visit?

  A: Every effort is made to arrange your child's well care and follow up visits with the physician of your choice. However, when your child is ill, he or she may see any one of our physicians.

• Q: Do you accept my health insurance plan?

  A: Please refer to Insurance Information to review Advocare's list of accepted insurance providers.

• Q: When will I receive lab or test results?

  A: You will receive a call right away with any lab results that require urgent attention. Other abnormal lab results will be addressed promptly by the provider that ordered the labs or tests. Normal values are usually not reported, however, you are welcome to call our office to request a copy of your results.

• Q: How do I obtain a prescription refill?

  A: Please complete this online form and click Submit to request your child's medication refill, at least 10 days before you run out of your medicine. We will complete your medication refill request and return your prescription via mail. To receive your prescription, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Pediatric Neurology Associates, 25 Lindsley Drive, Suite 205, Morristown, NJ 07960.

• Q: What happens during a neurological consultation?

  A: A neurological consultation begins with a neurological evaluation of your child that includes a complete history and a neurological examination.

  With the complete history, we gather information about the chief complaint or present illness, a child's developmental history, gross and fine motor skills, language, social and personal history, past medical history, and family history.

  The neurological examination includes a mental status exam, cranial nerve examination I through XII, an examination of the motor system including reflexes, a test of coordination including reflexes, a sensory examination including primary and cortical, a review of test results from the hospital and/or school, and a discussion of findings and recommendations with the parent.

  If indicated by the initial neurological examination, we will recommend that one of the following testing procedures be performed on a follow up visit:

  • Assessment of aphasia, including speech and language, with interpretation
  • Developmental testing for motor, language, social adaptive and/or cognitive with interpretation skills
  • Neurobehavioral status exam including thinking, reason, judgment, knowledge, attention, memory and visual skills
  • Administration and medical interpretation of developmental tests.

  These tests are used to determine the appropriate placement needs of your child, proper patient management, and individual educational and medication decisions. A neurological consultation is the foundation of our commitment to your child's neurological health.

• Q: What should I bring to our appointment?

  A: To expedite your visit and ensure a thorough neurological consultation, please bring the following:

  • Your insurance card
  • Physician referral forms if required by insurance
  • If your child is presently taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, please bring a list of medications, doses, and frequency
  • Pertinent information about your child's medical and surgical history, including details of birth and developmental milestones
  • Any recent CT scans and/or MRIs or appropriate records
  • When concerns about school issues are present, please bring any school reports, including child study team evaluations and any related educational materials.

• Q: What are your hospital affiliations?

  A: Our pediatric neurologists are on the attending staff at these New Jersey hospitals:

  • St. Clare's Hospital, Denville
  • Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown
  • Overlook Hospital, Summit
  • Chilton Memorial Hospital, Pompton Plains

• Q: How do I request my child's medical records?

  A: Please complete our Request to Copy Protected Health Information form and mail it, along with a $10 payment, to Advocare Pediatric Neurology Associates, 25 Lindsley Drive, Suite 205, Morristown, NJ, 07960. Note that your payment of $10 is for records up to 10 pages in length. For medical records over 10 pages, we charge a per page rate of $1, not to exceed $100. A staff member from medical records will call you to confirm the total number of pages you requested. All fees must be pre-paid.

• Q: What is a pediatric neurologist?

  A: Neurologists diagnose and treat disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves. Pediatric neurologists treat neurological disorders in infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatric neurology is a subspecialty of pediatrics. Specialized training and certification is required to be a board certified pediatric neurologist.

• Q: What types of disorders do pediatric neurologists diagnose and treat?

  A: Neurologists treat a wide variety of disorders, including headaches, migraines, tics, Tourette's syndrome, seizures, epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy, movement disorders, traumatic brain injury, infections of the brain, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and stroke.

• Q: What is an EEG?

  A: Brain cells communicate by producing tiny electrical impulses. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a 30 to 60-minute test that measures the brain's electrical activity. In an EEG, a technician uses sticky paste to apply 16 to 20 small metal discs called electrodes in different positions on the scalp, covering multiple areas of the brain. The electrodes are connected by wires to a recording machine that detect and records patterns of electrical activity and checks for abnormalities.

• Q: What is a video-EEG?

  A: In a video-EEG, an individual is videotaped at the same time that the EEG is recorded. The recording is carried out for several days. As this test is performed in the hospital, your child will be admitted for the duration of the test. The doctor usually views the video and EEG images side by side on a split screen. This allows the doctor to see precisely how a child's behavior during seizures is related to the electrical activity in the brain. Video-EEG is helpful in identifying the type of seizures, determining whether seizures with unusual features are actually epilepsy, pinpointing the region of the brain where seizures begin, and choosing proper treatment.

• Q: What is a concussion?

  A: A concussion is a disturbance in brain function that occurs following either a blow to the head or as a result of violent shaking to the head. Concussions are commonly seen in contact sports such as football, hockey, and other at-risk activities.

• Q: What is a seizure?

  A: A seizure is a sudden disruption of the brain's normal electrical activity accompanied by altered consciousness and/or other neurological and behavioral manifestations.

• Q: What is epilepsy?

  A: Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures that may include repetitive muscle jerking called convulsions.