Policies

Office Hours

Regular office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday morning appointments are available on a limited basis, opening at 8:30 a.m. until closing. The office is closed daily for lunch.

Appointments for ill visits are generally made on a same day, on an as needed basis. We encourage parents to call as early in the day as possible to facilitate appointment scheduling. We suggest calling at least 6 weeks in advance for scheduling checkups, especially for those needed in the summer months.

Please notify the office in advance if cancellation or rescheduling of appointments is needed. This courtesy will allow us to see other children as is greatly appreciated.

Phone Calls and Advice

Our skilled nursing staff is available 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to late morning on Saturday. The nurses can best assist you if the following information is available: Name of child, age, symptoms and duration of illness. If you must speak with one of the doctors, they will return your call at their earliest opportunity. For non-emergent advice or general information we suggest avoiding the early mornings when our phone lines tend to be busiest.

Telephone calls after hours are for urgent problems only. The answering service will page the doctor who will call you back (see Emergencies). If you have not received a call back in one hour, call again.

NON-URGENT MATTERS SHOULD WAIT UNTIL OFFICE HOURS

Emergencies

If your child has a life threatening emergency or serious accident call 911 immediately.For after hours emergencies, call the office at
(513) 398-5960 and the answering service will transmit the nature of the emergency to the doctor on call who will call you back. You must turn off privacy block or anonymous call rejection on your phone or the doctor will be unable to get through. We request that routine, non-emergency advice calls be made during regular office hours (see Phone Calls/Advice).

Insurance

We accept a wide variety of insurance plans. We suggest that you verify with your insurance company that we are an active provider for your plan and that we are listed as your Primary Care Provider. Insurance cards must be presented at every visit. Payments/co-pays are expected when services are rendered.

We accept cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and Debit Cards.It is your responsibility to know the details of your plan, the benefits it provides and the amount of your co-pay or deductible. If you have any question regarding your insurance or bill, please contact our billing office at (513) 398-5960.

Hospitals

Our doctors have hospital privileges at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Bethesda North Hospital.

This enables us to see your children and/or newborns at these hospitals. If you are delivering your newborn at any other hospital in the area, we have made arrangements for a group of newborn specialists called Newborn Care Associates to care for your baby while in the hospital.

Referrals

Many insurance companies no longer require a referral to see a specialist. However, some plans do still have that requirement. If the doctor suggests that your child see a specialist, it is your responsibility to check with your insurance company to determine if a referral is needed and to inform the office. We will do whatever referral paperwork is necessary. Failure to do this in a timely manner may cause you unnecessary expense and inconvenience.

Prescriptions

We require 24-48 hour advance notice for prescription refills. When calling for refills, please have the following information available: Child’s name, date of birth, medication name, medication strength, dosage, pharmacy and phone number (for telephone prescriptions).

NOTE: Prescriptions for ADD/ADHD medications may not be phoned to a pharmacy.