Policies

Financial

We are committed to providing you with the best possible care. If you have medical insurance, we are anxious to help you receive your maximum allowable benefits. In order to achieve these goals, we need your assistance, and your understanding of our payment policy. Click Here for a printout of this notice.

Payments for services are due at the time services are rendered unless payment arrangements have been approved in advance. We accept cash, checks and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express). Returned checks and balances older than 45 days may be subject to additional collection fees and interest charges of 1.5% per month. Charges may also be made for broken or missed appointments, and those cancelled without 24 hours’ notice. All insurance co-payments must be paid for at the time of the visit, or additional charges will be added to your account. If the account is in default and turned over for collection and if for any reason there are either court costs, attorney’s fees or collection fees incurred to collect any balance due Kids Care Pediatric Associates, P.C., You are personally responsible for them.

We will gladly discuss your proposed treatment and answer any questions related to your insurance. You must realize that:

• You must be aware of your insurance contract.
• You must be aware that not all services are covered.
• You must be aware of which laboratory your insurance requires us to utilize.

Your insurance is a contract between you, your employer and the insurance company. We are not a party to that contract. All services rendered to your child(ren) are charged directly to you, and you are personally responsible for payment. You agree that if you suspend or terminate care and treatment by this office that any fees for services rendered will be immediately due and payable.

NOT ALL SERVICES ARE A COVERED BENEFIT IN ALL CONTRACTS.

We must emphasize that as medical care providers, our relationship is with you and your CHILDREN, not with your insurance company. All charges are your responsibility from the date the services are rendered; therefore, if your insurance company denies any covered or not covered services, you are responsible. We realize that temporary financial problems may affect timely payment on your account. If such problems do arise, we encourage you to contact us promptly for assistance in the management of your account.

Referrals: If you’re insurance company requires authorizations for specialist or other care, all requests for referral authorizations must be made at least 48 hours in advance. There are no exceptions!

If you have questions about the above information, or any uncertainty regarding insurance coverage, please do not hesitate to ask us. We are here to help. We also do not want financial problems to cause problems with us. After all, we want to deliver the best medical care to your children without friction. You understand and agree that (regardless of my insurance status); You are ultimately responsible for any professional services rendered.

If for any reason there are either court costs, attorney’s fees or collection fees incurred to collect any balance due Kids Care Pediatric Associates, P.C., You are personally responsible for them.

Billing

Ok, so you have a bill:

The bill is for a balance due that could be either from something not covered by your insurance company, or a charge related directly to our office:

Payment
We accept checks or credit cards. If you do not want to send a check in, then you can call us and give us the credit card over the phone. This is the fastest way to fix your account

If you have a question you can either email us about the bill at bills@kids-care.com or call

407 365-2481

And ask for Darlene (she does the billing).

Please be aware of the following:

• Bills over 45 days will start to incur finance charges of 1.5% per month, or $1.00 per month, whichever is more. Please see our financial policy of more details.
• Bills over 120 days will be automatically entered into our collection agencies for further collections. The end result here is that your account will be handled by an outside agency that WILL put your account into TRW/Collection that can ruin your credit. Please call Darlene before this happens to work out a solution to the problem.
• If you ignore the bill, the problem will not go away. Darlene is more than happy to work with you to reach a solution to the problem.

Email

Please see Email Communications for a printable agreement on the following policies.

1. Use of E-mail Communications. Patient agrees and understands that Patient may use e-mail to communicate with Providers regarding Patient’s care and treatment, and with the Practice regarding certain administrative matters arising from health care services rendered to Patient. Patient shall not use e-mail to communicate with Providers and shall use other means of communication (e.g., telephone, personal visit) for:
(a) Emergencies or other time-sensitive issues;
(b) inquiries which deal with sensitive information; and
(c) situations in which a Provider’s or the Practice’ does not respond to your email.

The Practice and Providers shall make a reasonable attempt to return all e-mail messages received within two (2) business days. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Patient does not receive a response by the close of business on the second business day following the Patient’s e-mail message; the Patient agrees to use other means of communication to contact the Practice or Provider. Similarly, the Patient agrees that the Practice and Providers may use their reasonable professional judgment to determine whether any response by e-mail is appropriate or practical, and request that the Patient either speak with the Practice or Provider by telephone or make an appointment for an in-person visit.

2. Composing E-mail Messages. When composing e-mail messages to Providers, the Patient shall:
(a) Write concisely.
(b) Include the Patient’s full name [and patient identification number] in the subject line, and a brief description of the nature of the request (e.g., “prescription refill”, “medical advice”, “billing question”).
(c) Keep copies of e-mail messages sent and received.
(d) When requested by Provider, send a reply to Provider to acknowledge receipt and review of e-mail message from Provider.

3. Access to the Patient’s E-mail Communications. By entering into this Agreement, the Patient understands and acknowledges that it may be necessary for Providers other than the Provider to whom the message is addressed to access e-mail messages sent by the Patient to the Provider, in order to help Provider organize and respond to e-mail messages received from patient, to cover for Provider if Provider is not available, and, in some cases, to assist in generating a response. The Patient hereby authorizes any Provider of the Practice to access the Patient e-mail messages. Further, the Practice may use non-clinical personnel to organize and respond to e-mail messages regarding billing or other administrative matters. The Patient hereby authorizes non-clinical personnel of the Practice to access e-mail messages sent to Providers or Practice which include inquiries related to administrative matters.

4. No Liability. The Patient agrees that e-mail communications with the Practice and any Provider is offered as a convenience to the Patient, and the Patient shall not hold the Practice or Provider responsible for any expense, loss, or damage caused by, or resulting from: (i) a delay in Practice’s or Provider’s response to the Patient, or any damage to the Patient resulting from such delay, due to technical failures, including, but not limited to, technical failures attributable to the Practice’s internet service provider, power outages, failure of the Practice’s electronic messaging software, failure by Practice, Providers or the Patient to properly address e-mail messages, failure of the Practice’s computers or computer network, or faulty telephone or cable data transmission; (ii) any interception of the Patient’s, Providers’, or Practice’s e-mail communications by a third party; or (iii) the Patient’s failure to comply with the guidelines regarding use of e-mail communications set forth in Section 1, above.

5. Confidentiality. The Practice and Providers shall exercise reasonable efforts to ensure the confidentiality of the Patient e-mail communications, however, the Patient understands that e-mail communications to the Practice are not secure, and there is therefore some possibility that the confidentiality of such communications will be breached by a third party. Communication regarding highly confidential medical matters should therefore be reserved for other forms of communication (e.g., telephone, personal visit). If the Patient accesses the Practice through an employer’s e-mail system, the Patient should be aware that an employer has the right to review any e-mail communications transmitted through the employer’s e-mail system.

6. Archiving. The Practice may keep copies of e-mail messages that the Patient sends to Providers or the Practice, and may include such messages in the Patient’s medical record.

Telephone

Emergency Calls (Day or Night)

Call 911 (Emergency Medical Services) for any life threatening emergencies for which your child might require resuscitation (e.g.: your child is not breathing, is severely choking, has been knocked unconscious, or is having a seizure) When you call in, always state clearly, “This is an emergency”. Do not let the answering service or staff put you on hold.

If you need to contact one of the Doctors, for urgent medical issues, please call 516-775-0493 Press ‘0’. IF YOU HAVE CALLER ID, AND BLOCK INCOMING PRIVATE CALLS, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CALL YOU BACK. PLEASE TAKE THIS BLOCK OFF YOUR PHONE! (To deactivate, dial *87)

Poison Control Phone: Nationwide: 1-800-222-1222

Calls about Sick Children during Office Hours
We see sick children by appointment only. Our office hours are listed on this website. If your child is sick and you want the physician to see him or her, call ahead for an appointment so you won’t have to wait. Try to call about sick children during the earlier morning office hours. The receptionist who has been trained to make decisions on which patients need to be seen by the physician, and how to provide home care for children who don’t need to be seen screens all medical calls. If you need to speak to the physician about non-urgent matters, we will arrange for that call back. If the offices staff is busy, and can only take a message, or if you left a message on the answering machine, please try to keep your telephone line open. If you call isn’t returned within an hour, please call again, unless a prearranged call back time was made. Keep in mind that Monday mornings are the busiest time of the week.

Working Parents and Sick Children
We understand the pressures of working and having sick children at home or in day care. If you think your child may need to be seen, please call in the morning to arrange an appointment.

Well Child Questions
We are happy to provide you with the Health information you need to be a better parent. However, please place calls about behavior issues or other well-child issues during weekday office hours. The best time to call is in the morning, and we will try to get back to you as early as possible.

Prescription Refills
We refill prescriptions only during office hours because we need your child’s chart handy to check on dosages and disease status. Plan ahead so that you don’t run out of important medicine. Always have the phone number of your pharmacy available when you call the office.

Nighttime (after hours) Calls
After office hours, calls should be made only for emergencies or urgent problems that can’t wait until morning. Calls about mild illnesses can usually wait until the next morning. After office hours, your calls will be received by an answering service and a message will be transferred to the physician on call. The physician will usually return your call within 20 minutes. If you do not receive a call back within 1 hour, in a non-emergency situation, please call back again. IF YOU HAVE CALLER ID, AND BLOCK INCOMING PRIVATE CALLS, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CALL YOU BACK. PLEASE TAKE THIS BLOCK OFF YOUR PHONE! (to deactivate, dial *87) If you don’t get a call back, this is the reason in a majority of situations.

Weekend and Holiday Calls
If your child becomes ill or is injured during a weekend or a holiday, call our answering service. Please call by 9:30 AM so that we can plan our day. After 12:00, limit calls to emergencies or other urgent problems that can’t wait until morning. Please have the following information available when you call:

• Your child’s main symptoms
• Any chronic disease or health problems
• Your child’s temperature if sick
• Your child’s approximate weight
• The names and dosages of any medicines your child is taking
• Your pharmacy’s number always has a pencil and paper ready to take down instructions.

Form Fees

Due to the tremendous demand for all types of forms, including school physicals, sport physicals, medical excuses, FMLA’s, verifications,  WIC, etc.,  we are often inundated with completing these requests.

As has become the ‘industry’ standard, we have instituted charges for any form that requires us to complete (excluding WIC).  Therefore, we charge $5.00 for each form completed, payable in advance.

When you have a form that needs completion, please bring it to the front desk BEFORE your visit.  We will require the fee to be paid in advance.

Forms will be ready a minimum of 2 business days after submission.   In addition, any form not picked up within 60 days will be discarded.