Policies

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics.

We educate families on appropriate use of antibiotics, but follow evidence-based guidelines and don’t automatically treat ear pain or a green snotty nose with antibiotics.

We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone as we do not believe that is good medicine. We will prescribe an antibiotic when we believe it is an appropriate treatment.

Everyone's Time is Equally Valuable.

We ask that you arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. We understand sometimes things happen beyond your control that may cause you to be late. However, we reserve the right to ask you to reschedule if you arrive late for your appointment.

Our practice makes every effort to run on time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable.

Upcoming Appointments Via Phone/Text Message/Email

Missed Appointments: Broken appointments represent a cost to us, to you, and to other patients who could have been seen in the time set aside for you. We reserve the right to charge a fee for canceled or missed appointments. We request 24 hours notice for cancellation of appointments.

A fee may be charged for a second missed appointment. The third consecutive missed appointment will result in discharge from the practice.

For new patients, a fee may be charged if the FIRST appointment is missed.

In an effort to provide a safe and healthy environment for staff and patients, Carolina Pediatric Center, PLLC, expects parents, patients and accompanying family and friends to refrain from behaviors that are disruptive orpose a threat to the rights or safety of other patients or staff.

The following behaviors are prohibited and may result in immediate dismissal from the practice:

1. Physical assault or inflicting bodily harm
2. Rude behaviors in person or through written, verbal or electronic communication, including but not limited to the following:
3. Profanity, harassment, offensive or intimidating statements or gestures and threats of violence
4. Racial/cultural slurs or other derogatory remarks associated with race, languange, or sexual orientation.
5. Requests that would constitute illegal or unethical behavior on the part of Carolina Pediatric Center, PLLC.

Please be courteous with the use of cell phones and other electronic devices. We, respectfully, ask that you put away your devices while interacting with the staff, nurses and physicians.

We make every effort to reduce wait times and make all our our patients' visits to Carolina Pediatric Center as stress free and enjoyable as possible. To assist in that goal, we have the following expectations:

I.Please jot down all issues that you wish to discuss with the doctor on the pre-appointment check in forms sent to your phone or email. These forms go out 3 days before the appointment. It may require another appointment to address all concerns.

II.Please arrive a little before or on time for your appointment. We have put a system in place for you to notify us once you arrive at our location. We will inform you to come to the front door once we have verified requiredappointment paperwork has been completed. Arriving more than 15 minutes late may result in having to reschedule. Please only park in designated areas.

III.Please provide 24 hours notice of appointment cancellation. An appointment canceled the same day or in lessthan 24-hours is noted as a ‘No Show.' Patients are allowed a maximum of 2 No Shows in a 12-month period and are dismissed upon a third. The same visit appointment can only be canceled once and becomes a ‘No Show' on a second cancellation.

IV.Your health insurance and Carolina Pediatric Center require that you keep up to date with your well check-ups. Patients 2 or more years delinquent for well-checks will face dismissal from the practice.

V.Please ensure a parent or responsible adult attends all appointments with patients that are 17 years and below.This is necessary for obtaining legal consent for all procedures and treatments, including vaccinations. A form to designate a responsible party to give consent in a parent's/guardian's absence must be completed.

VI.Payment of co-pays and or deductibles is expected at the time of service. Failure to do so may result inrescheduling of the services. Payment arrangements can be made for balances over $100.

VII.It is the parent's/patient's duty to inform us of the existence of a secondary or tertiary form of insurance for the visit.Medicaid insurance holders who also carry private insurance are obligated to share that information at the time of the visit. Failure to do will result in being billed for claims subsequently denied by insurance payors as patient responsibility.

VIII.School/work notes will only be written for the day the child is seen and for the days the doctor writes them out.

IX.Prescription refills will be processed, for patients meetingrequirements, within 24-48 hours, on business days.Note that a prescription refill requested on Friday will be processed and available in your pharmacy, Monday.

X.Forms needing completion can be dropped off anytime in ourdrop-off box on the wall in back of the office.It can take up to 7 days to process. Please be sure to provide a name and contact number so we can notify when ready to pick. Some forms may attract a processing fee.

XI.Masks are required for all families presenting with fevers or respiratory symptoms.

XII.Food and drinks are prohibited in the office except for infant formula.

XIII.Notify staff to provide a bag for soiled diapers.Please do not put soiled diapers in the room trashcans.

Thank you for choosing us as your health care provider. We are committed to providing quality care and service to all of our patients. The following is a statement of our financial policy, which we require that you read and agree to prior to any treatment.

•  Please understand that payment of your bill is considered part of your treatment. Fees are payable when services are rendered. We accept cash, check, credit cards, and pre-approved insurance for which we are a contracted provider and are the designated Primary Care Provider (PCP), if applicable.

•  It is your responsibility to know your own insurance benefits, including whether we are a contracted provider with your insurance company, your covered benefits and any exclusions in your insurance policy, and any preauthorization requirements of your insurance company.

•  We will attempt to confirm your insurance coverage prior to your treatment. It is your responsibility to provide current and accurate insurance information, including any updates or changes in coverage. Should you fail to provide this information, you will be financially responsible.

•  If we have a contract with your insurance company we will bill your insurance company first, less any copayment(s) or deductible(s), and then bill you for any amount determined to be your responsibility. This process generally takes 45-60 days from the time the claim is received by the insurance company.

•  If we do not contract with your insurance company, you will be expected to pay for all services rendered at the end of your visit. We will provide you with a statement that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

•  Proof of payment and photo ID are required for all patients. We will ask to make a copy of your ID and insurance card for our records. Providing a copy of your insurance card does not confirm that your coverage is effective or that the services rendered will be covered by your insurance company.

•  Please understand some insurance coverages have Out-of-Network benefits that have co-insurance charges, higher co-payments and limited annual benefits. If you receive services are part of an Out-of-Network benefit, your portion of financial responsibility may be higher than the In-Network rate. 

We have implemented a policy requiring a credit card held on file effective 05/30/2016. As you may be aware, the current healthcare market has resulted in insurance policies increasingly transferring costs to you, the insured. Some insurance plans require deductibles and copayments in amounts not known to you or us at the time of your visit.

Similar to hotels and car rental agencies, you are asked for a credit card number at the time you check in and the information will be held securely until your insurances have paid their portion and notified us of the amount of your share, you will receive a statement. At that time, any remaining balance owed by you will be charged to your credit card, and a copy of the charge will be mailed to you. This is an advantage since it makes checkout easier, faster, and more efficient. This in no way will compromise your ability to dispute a charge or question your insurance company’s determination of payment. 

Patients with verified ACTIVE MEDICAID or CHMO coverage are exempt from having a credit card on file. 

If you have any questions about this payment method, do not hesitate to ask. 

For more information please see our FULL PAYMENT FOR SERVICES POLICY

Carolina Pediatric Center, PLLC Privacy Policy

Efficiency through the use of technology

You will be encouraged to consult our website, register for and use our patient portal, and effectively use automated reminders for appointments and for routine care/immunizations that are due.

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

• We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.

• We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

• We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

• We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from 31 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at Carolina Pediatric Center.