Practice Info

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We will be happy to see your child by appointment during our regular office hours.  We work hard to accommodate your schedule and location needs. A limited number of “walk-in” appointments are available for sick visits, but we are best able to serve our families when we schedule your child’s appointment in advance.

If possible, we recommend booking physicals at least one month in advance. especially during the busy summer season. Under most circumstances, sick appointments will be booked the same day that you call.  If the office is closed, please leave a message, and we will contact you when we re-open to schedule an appointment.

Please let us know if you have to cancel an appointment or are unable to arrive on time..  If you plan to bring more than one child to a given appointment, please let us know so that we can have the chart prepared and that we can allow for some extra time.

Yes, we are open from at the Middletown location  from 8:30 AM until Noon on Saturdays for sick patients as well as physicals, consults, and labwork.

 

 

We offer evening hours at both locations on Mondays and at the Middletown location on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Call either phone number and you will be connected to our answering service. The covering provider will call you back. We pride ourselves on speaking with our patients directly after hours rather than using a nurse triage service.

 

 

If you are calling about a non-urgent problem or you need advice you will be asked to leave a message.  We will return the call as soon as possible, and ask that you understand that emergencies and scheduled patient visits take priority over non-urgent phone calls.    Alternatively, see our resources list on this web site for dosage charts and other information.

If you call us with a problem, please have available paper and pencil, the names of any medication your child is taking, and a recent temperature, if relevant.  Also know which pharmacy you use, and whether or not it is open.

We are often asked to prescribe medication over the phone.  As long as we are able to update your child’s medications through regular examinations, we are certainly happy to refill prescriptions for chronic problems such as asthma, allergies, seizure disorders, etc.  In general, however, we feel it is bad policy to prescribe medications, especially antibiotics, without seeing your child.  In setting this policy, our number one concern is your child’s welfare.

Of course we realize that emergencies arise.  In certain circumstances we may prescribe an antibiotic over the phone, but we will expect that you will bring your child to the office as soon as possible so that we can confirm our diagnosis.

Please note that if you have a privacy manager or private call blocker, you may not receive a call back from the on-call doctor. To deactivate your privacy manager, pick up your phone and dial *87, then hang up.

We participate in most insurance plans.  Please call our central billing team at 201-252-8700 during normal business hours if you have questions about insurance plans or billing.  If you belong to a plan with a specific co-pay amount per visit, payment is required at the time of service.  Your insurance plan may restrict you to specific hospitals or diagnostic facilities or require you to receive certification prior to diagnostic evaluation or hospitalization.  Please be aware of your plans provisions.  We may not have access to that information if you call us off hours.

Middletown Pediatrics feels strongly that immunizations are safe and highly effective in preventing severe life-threatening illness in infants and children. We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine schedule and utilize combination products to provide complete coverage with minimal discomfort.

 

 

Middletown Pediatrics feels all children should be fully vaccinated in a timely manner. Not vaccinating your child puts your child in danger as well as other children who may be visiting our office. Therefore, we do not accept families who choose not to vaccinate their children.

 

 

Yes, adolescents are welcome in our office until age 21. We enjoy working with young adults and understand that they have health care concerns and needs that are different from our younger patients.

 

 

Yes, we welcome all kids and parents regardless of sexual orientation, and we are comfortable discussing these issues with kids and their families.