Office Policies

Office Policies are vital to the successful operations of our office. These Policies are set up for the best interest of both our patients and our staff, and are established to provide everyone a quality standard of care and service. For our complete Office Policy Packet (Click Here to Download PDF)

Included in your packet are our office policies relating to:

• After Hours, Weekends and Holidays
• Appointments
• Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner
• Childhood Immunizations
• Completion of Forms (such as School, Camp, Sports) and Letters
• Consultations
• Hospital Stays
• Inclement Weather and Unexpected Closings
• Initial, Annual, School and Sports Physical Examinations
• Insurance and Balances Due
• Lab Testing and Specimen Procurement
• Office Schedules 
• Prenatal/Physician Interviews
• Quick Sick
• Referrals
• School Medication Form

After Hours, Weekends and Holidays

If your care need is: 

• A true urgent or emergent care need, please call 911. 
• Necessary but not requiring a 911 call we ask that you consider an urgent care facility such as Patient First or an Emergency Department for things such as fractures, sprains, lacerations, or the like that would require injury intervention and/or imaging.
• If your need is a medical management question that cannot wait until our next business day, we offer an On-Call Provider to help you. Please call our main number at 410-583-2955 and follow the instructions to have the On-Call Provider paged.

Appointments

It is important that you arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time to allow us to process your check in and complete your visit triage prior to seeing your provider. 

We reserve the right to reschedule your appointment if:
• You are late or missed your scheduled time.
• You do not have insurance coverage and are not prepared to pay for your services.
• You are not prepared to pay your copay and/or balances due.

Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP)

We staff CRNPs as part of our provider team. Our CRNPs have gone through very specific education and training. They first earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and obtain their license as a Registered Nurse (RN). They then work in an inpatient and/or outpatient care setting providing patient medical care as directed by oversight providers. The next step in their education is earning their Master of Science in Nursing degree, or Doctoral program in nursing which includes clinical rotations in physician offices where they are specifically trained in pediatric medical care. After completing their medical education and training they must pass a national board certification exam in Pediatrics. After achieving their board certification, the nurse practitioner must apply for their State Medical license and their Federal and State registrations for prescribing medication. CRNPs must achieve a defined number of continuing medical education (CME) credits and clinical practice hours in order to maintain their certification and licensure. In addition to all of this, our CRNPs work under the supervision of your Pediatrician and collaborate with your Pediatrician in the care of your child(ren).

Childhood Immunizations - Keeping your Child Safe from Preventable Diseases

The Physicians and Staff of Pavilion Pediatrics at Green Spring Station clearly recognize the importance of childhood immunizations. These immunizations have been proven to be safe and effective in preventing serious childhood diseases. The vaccination schedule, as outlined by the Center for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is designed to protect your child before they are likely to be exposed to a potentially serious disease. Due to the importance of these vaccines, we will not alter your child’s vaccination schedule. Maintaining the appropriate vaccination schedule helps us protect your child from preventable diseases, and other children from potential exposure to these diseases.

Consultations

Consultations are sometimes needed to discuss things outside of a normal office visit, such as the effect of a new school, new location, divorce or other factor that impacts the overall well being of your child(ren). Consultations are scheduled during regular office hours. Before scheduling a consult, discuss the problems and indications with your pediatrician so that you both can agree on the time needed and who should be part of this visit.

Completion of Forms (such as School, Camp, Sports) and Letters

We ask you do the following to assure that all forms are completed properly and timely:

• Make sure your child has had a physical within the past 12 months, or schedule a current physical prior to your forms completion request.
• Complete the parent portion of the form and have the child’s name and date of birth on each page including the provider page.
• Complete our Parent Questionnaire for Completion of Forms.
• Forms can be mailed, dropped off to our front desk staff, or emailed to [email protected].
  • Please note, if you email your form, your request is NOT COMPLETE until you call our office to confirm receipt.
• There is a $20.00 fee for routine completion of each set of forms for each child. We will work to have your forms completed in up to 7 business days.
• We also offer  “PRIORITY”  form requests to have your forms completed in up to 2 business days for a fee of $40 for each set of forms for each child. We cannot guarantee all PRIORITY requests, as this depends on staffing and volume of forms needing to be completed.
• There will be a $10 fee for all Medication Administration and/or Asthma and Allergy Action Plans that are not turned in the same day as your initial set or forms and are submitted separately.
• There is a $10 fee for all Letter Requests. Please contact our front desk staff for further instructions.
• Forms and Letters can be returned to YOU by email, mail, or may be picked up. It is your responsibility to work with your school, camp, or other facility.
• We are not able to complete your form(s) during your visit, as this will interfere with other patient care.  Make sure that you know the turnaround time needed and provide us the form in enough time to help you meet that timeframe.

We are happy to complete your forms and letters for your children, and ask that you follow our policy so that everyone can meet this need in a  timely manner.

Hospital Stays

During the newborn hospital stay, the House Staff Physician will provide care for your newborn and send us their information. Neonatal Intensive Care and Pediatric Intensive Care stays will be handled by the appropriate Intensivist. We will be kept informed of the ongoing care and may check in with you to see how things are going. Please contact our office to schedule your newborns visit, which is needed 1 – 3 days from hospital discharge. 
 
Other Hospital Stays for Acute Care will be handled by the appropriate Physician. We will also be kept informed of this ongoing care and may check in with you to see how things are going.

Please feel free to call your pediatrician during regular business hours to discuss any questions you have regarding the hospital stay.

Inclement Weather and Unexpected Closings

Our Office looks to meet our regular office schedules. However, there may be times when it is necessary, due to weather or other unexpected closings, such as an area-wide power outage or water main break, to close our office. We do not make the decision to close our office casually, as our commitment is to be here and provide your pediatric care needs. However, when the weather may make it unsafe for you and/or our staff to travel, or our office is not able to provide services due to problems such as no electricity or water, we must close until we are able to safely and adequately provide your care.

Our closing notices will be provided for you on our telephone message and on our website. Our staff will contact you if we are not able to keep your appointment and let you know what we are experiencing and when we may be looking to reschedule your visit.

Initial, Annual, School, Sports and Camp Physical Examinations

Initial Physical Examinations are often scheduled longer than other examinations to allow us the time to get more in-depth information and background.

Annual Physical Examinations are done as needed throughout the year. Please note that these exams are not specifically due in July and August. Most schools, Sports Departments and Camps require a Physical Examination within the last 12 months, and we have seen a few requiring an examination within the last 9 months. Waiting until July and August to schedule this examination may not allow you the time you need to get the examination done by the required date. We suggest that you look at scheduling these examinations as soon as possible to be able to get an appointment that best meets your needs.

Please Note: If an annual Physical Exam was done in the last 12 months and you need or desire a new Physical Exam, your insurance benefits may not cover this additional exam. Please check with your insurance carrier regarding this additional exam and if it is not covered by your insurance, please be prepared to pay for this exam at the time of service. We will accept Cash, Check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express for payment. Please feel free to call our office prior to the appointment date and time to discuss fees.

Insurance and Balances Due

Please be prepared to have your current insurance information and to pay any copays, or other balances on your account when you visit our office. 

• Remember to call your benefits office to add your newborn. Otherwise, you may be responsible for payment of your newborn services. Many employers require notification to add a new child be made within 30 days, from the date of birth, or you may have to wait until your open enrollment period to obtain coverage.
• You should always check with your insurance company to make sure you have covered benefits for our services, as we do not participate in all insurance plans. 
• We currently DO NOT participate with any Federal or State funded Medicare, Medical Assistance, and/or insurance MCO Plans, such as: Amerigroup, Diamond Plan, Maryland Physicians Care, Priority Partners, Riverside or United Healthcare Community Plan. We participate with most Private Insurance Plans in our area utilizing Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue shield, Carefirst, Cigna, Johns Hopkins Health Plan and United Healthcare Network. Please note that we DO NOT participate with United HealthCare’s Optimum Choice HMO and plans obtained under Obama Care Health Exchange.
• We cannot guarantee your insurance benefits, and payments for services rendered are your responsibility. 

Please be prepared to pay any copays, deductibles and/or other amounts due by you. Failure to pay any amounts due will affect your ability to schedule future appointments and/or have forms completed. For your convenience, we accept VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, AMERICAN EXPRESS, CHECK, or CASH AT THE OFFICE, or YOU MAY PAY BY CREDIT CARD ONLINE VIA OUR SECURE PAYMENT PORTAL AT PHREESIA. Please call Our Billing Staff at 410-321-4411 if you have any questions regarding your account or payment. 

Lab Testing and Specimen Procurement

Lab Specimens taken by and/or received by our staff are procured and prepped to be sent to a fully accredited and certified Laboratory. We are not a fully accredited and certified Laboratory. We are equipped to do limited in office labs and screening tests. Depending on the test needed or your insurance requirement, the specimen is sent to LabCorp or Quest Diagnostic Lab. LabCorp or Quest will bill you separately from any charges for our services for the test(s) performed. Any questions about your LabCorp bill call 1-800-845-6167 or Quest bill call 1-844-750-4024.

If your insurance requires lab services be performed at a lab other than LabCorp or Quest, we are happy to provide you with a requisition.

Office Schedules

Quick Sick:

7:30am – 8:15am on regular business days.
See our Quick Sick Policy for more detailed information.
No appointment needed. Available for our Established Patients only.

Office Visits:

8:30am – 4:30pm Monday through Friday on regular business days.
8:30am – 11:30am Saturday for scheduled sick appointments. 

Please Note

• Be sure to check with your insurance to make sure you are covered for your visit and services with us. Bring your insurance card with you to your appointment.
• Please be prepared to pay your copay and any balance due at the time of your visit. We accept VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, AMERICAN EXPRESS, CHECKS and CASH. You will be charged $35 for any and for all checks returned by your bank.
• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to allow enough time to park, complete your check in process, and be ready for your scheduled appointment.
• We reserve the right to reschedule your appointment if:
  • You are late or missed your scheduled time.
  • You do not have insurance coverage and are not prepared to pay for your services.
  • You are not prepared to pay your copay and/or balances due

Our Office is CLOSED for the following Holidays

• New Years Eve at Noon: December 31st when it falls on a regular business day.
• New Years Day: January 1st when it falls on a regular business day, the Friday before when it falls on Saturday, or the Monday after when it falls on Sunday.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: the 3rd Monday in January.
• Memorial Day: the last Monday in May.
• Juneteenth: June 19th
• 4th of July: July 4th when it falls on a regular business day, the Friday before when it falls on Saturday, or the Monday after when it falls on Sunday.
• Labor Day: the 1st Monday in September.
• Thanksgiving Day: the 4th Thursday in November.
• Day After Thanksgiving: the 4th Friday in November.  We will be open our normal Saturday hours. 
• Christmas Eve at Noon: December 24th when it falls on a regular business day.
• Christmas Day: December 25th when it falls on a regular business day, the Friday before when it falls on Saturday, or the Monday after when it falls on Sunday.

We also close at Noon around the 2nd Tuesday of December to allow our staff to get together for our annual office Holiday gathering. We will post the actual date annually. 

Prenatal/Physician Interviews

We offer prenatal/physician interviews before joining our practice. This gives us time to meet and go over our mutual expectations and care plan. There is a $40 fee for this visit which is due when you check in. We accept Cash, Check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express for payment.

QUICK SICK Policy  

We happily provide Quick Sick for our established patients, and ask that you follow our Quick Sick Policy.

Quick Sick is Walk In care which does not require an appointment.

We will see Quick Sick patients Monday through Friday from 7:30am until 8:15am on regular business days. In order to be seen for Quick Sick you must arrive prior to 8:15am, otherwise we are happy to schedule an available appointment time for you.

There is no Quick Sick on Saturdays, Holidays, bad weather days when the office is closed, or other office closed days.

Quick Sick is staffed and intended to assess minor illnesses that have developed usually overnight, and to help working parents determine if their child is well enough to attend daycare or school due to such illnesses as:

• A sore throat that needs to be tested for strep  
• A child who is wheezing 
• An infant with a fever 
• A child with ear pain

Quick Sick is NOT intended for:

• New patients to our practice.
• Any child with an illness of long duration that is not resolving 
• Vaccinations or blood draws
• Non acute or serious illnesses requiring more physician and staff time
• If you know your child is too ill to attend their daycare or school, and someone will be with the child during the day
• When one child is ill and his/her siblings are also not well
• More than 2 children, please call the office and schedule an appointment if you have more than 2 sick children that need to be seen. 
• Well Exams

Please note: We always have same day sick appointments available and are ready to meet your sick child’s needs.  We maintain a full staff beginning at 8:30am, so that you do not need to make Quick Sick your only sick visit option.

Referrals

Referral requirements are specific to your health benefits, and many health plans are moving away from referrals. Please check your insurance coverage to see if you require a referral for care referred outside of our office. If a referral is needed, please make sure that we know of your need at least one week prior to your specialist appointment date. We are not able to give referrals after you see a specialist.

Please be sure to have the following information when calling for your referral:

• Providers Name and Specialty
• Providers Phone number
• Providers Fax number
• Providers Address
• Date and Time of your scheduled appointment
• Reason for the appointment

School Medication Forms

Your school or daycare may provide you with the Maryland State Medication Administration Authorization form. However, if you need this form, click here.

Office Policy Packet (Click Here to Download PDF)