Office Policies 

Dear Parents,

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The business of providing insurance-based healthcare is complex and constantly changing. To ensure that our families are provided with the highest quality of care, we at Bidabadi Pediatrics ask for your cooperation with the following policies:

 

COURTESY

 

At Bidabadi Pediatrics we strive to provide the best medical care for our families. While we make every effort to provide prompt, on-time care; the individual needs of each patient may not always allow us to follow an exact schedule. Therefore, we ask for your understanding and patience in return. If you may have a concern or a problem arises, please do not hesitate to address our staff.  However, angry and/or foul language directed at the staff, no matter the issues involved, will NOT be tolerated. We pride ourselves on treating our families in a friendly, respectful, professional manner and we ask that our families maintain the same rapport with our staff. 

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VACCINATIONS

 

At Bidabadi Pediatrics we full-heartedly believe in vaccinations. They protect our children from devastating diseases and future medical problems. We respect and understand that parents have concerns and questions regarding vaccines to which we will do our absolute best to educate our families to separate fact from fiction. With this in mind, we will work with parents to determine the best vaccine schedule for their children to assure their wellness. Regardless of the schedule determined, we encourage our patients to be fully vaccinated. If a family decides against vaccinating, then Bidabadi Pediatrics will not be a good fit. Our philosophy is founded in preventing illness and maintaining health, vaccines are a critical and vital part of this goal.  

 

CHANGES IN ADDRESS, BILLING, AND CONTACT INFORMATION

 

Please notify our office in writing of any changes to your address, billing, and/or contact information. While these changes may be made through our patient portal, it is imperative for our office to have the most up-to-date information on record.

 

INSURANCE POLICIES

 

Our office will submit claims for insurance carriers with which we participate. At Bidabadi Pediatrics we are dedicated to offering quality and oftentimes beyond the standard of care to our patients. It is impossible for us to know what each individual patient’s insurance policy will cover. Therefore, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to be familiar with your particular insurance plan benefits. Comprehensive physicals, immunizations, certain procedures, laboratory tests, and prescribed medications may not be covered. Prior authorizations may be completed at the discretion of Dr. Bidabadi. We, therefore, cannot guarantee that all services and therapies provided or recommended are covered by your insurance. We also CANNOT and WILL NOT change codes in order to modify insurance coverage as it is fraudulent and illegal. 

 

We will require proof of current insurance as well as a valid photo ID at check-in for EVERY visit. It is vital that you provide us with all the necessary information about your insurance at every visit to ensure proper billing for your child’s care. Since changes in insurance coverage are frequent, it is our policy to obtain a copy of your insurance card for the applicable insurance. Please be prepared to show your insurance card and valid photo ID at each visit. 

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PAYMENTS and FEES

 

Copays are due at the time of service. We will submit all other charges accordingly to your insurance company. Those patients without proof of insurance or active coverage may be required to pay in full or will be asked to reschedule their appointments. If you choose to be seen you MUST pay in full at the time of service. A copy of your driver’s license will be taken. You will be given a copy of our charges as a receipt for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement purposes.

 

In the event your child's claim (office visit, well visit, ect.) needs to be reprocessed due to failure of providing the office with updated insurance information, there will be a $20 fee. 

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Even though we will bill your insurance company, we are not responsible to negotiate a settlement for a disputed claim. Billing your insurance company does not always ensure payment by the insurance company nor does it release the responsible party from it’s financial obligation to our office for any unpaid balances. In the event of partial payment by the insurance company, the remaining balance will be due and you will receive a billing statement. Balances that exceed 120 DAYS may be sent to a collection agency unless other arrangements have been made. Should you require a payment plan, our office manager will be happy to discuss your options with you. 

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LATE, NO SHOW, AND WALK-IN APPOINTMENTS POLICY

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Our goal is to make sure that as many patients as possible have access to care when needed. If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment we ask that you notify the office in advance. We understand that appointments are not always able to be kept, however, a NO SHOW is when a patient fails to keep a scheduled appointment without adequately notifying the staff. All no show appointments will generate a standard no show fee, the first NO SHOW will be a verbal warning with no fee. All subsequent NO SHOWS will generate a $50 fee. Three or more NO SHOW on a family account may result in being discharged from the practice. We understand life happens and conflicts may arise beyond your control and want to be understanding of special circumstances. In the event you have a special circumstance regarding your missed appointment, please contact our office.

 

If you are delayed and cannot make your appointment on time, please call to notify the office of your situation. Any significant delay will require your appointment to be rescheduled. We will try our best to accommodate you if our schedule allows. 

 

While we will try our best to accommodate WALK-IN appointments, please be aware that there are patients with scheduled appointments and you will be seen at the next available time slot. We strongly recommend that you make an appointment if your child needs to be seen. 

 

TELEPHONE MESSAGES and REFERRALS

 

Dr. Bob requires all messages to be initiated via the patient portal. Urgent questions regarding acute illness (i.e., fever, vomiting, sore throat, etc.) should still be answered by a phone call to the office for proper triage by our staff. Non-urgent, chronic, behavioral, emotional, or general questions should always be initiated via the patient portal. Dr. Bob may still call you to discuss these matters. However, he prefers that all conversations be initiated via the portal. This allows for quicker responses and more consistent contact.

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In some cases, your child will be referred to a specialist for further evaluation and treatment. Many insurance companies will require you to obtain a referral in order to be seen by a specialist. It is your responsibility to find out and notify our office if your insurance plan will require a referral for a specialist appointment. Please allow us 48-72 HOURS to process your specialist referral. 

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LETTERS, SCHOOL and CAMP FORMS 

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The office charges a fee for all paperwork that requires completion by our providers. There will be a $5-10 fee for all standard forms (universal health record, sports physical form, asthma action plan, food allergy forms, etc) not completed at your child’s checkup.

 

School or work accommodation letters, FMLA forms, disability paperwork, and other miscellaneous letters are a standard fee of $25. The provider will take 5-10 business days to complete the letters. 

 

DMV forms such as handicap placards or license plate applications, social security letters, and primary diagnosis letters are $5.

 

All standard forms will take 2-5 business days to complete. Letters, including FMLA and disability paperwork, will require 5-10 business days to complete. An addtional fee of $ 15 will be charged if the form must be completed the same day. For convenience, forms can be requested and submitted via the patient portal. Once completed, forms will be uploaded to the patient portal.

 

Please write the patient’s name and date of birth on each form. Any form submitted without the child’s name will be discarded. We will NOT fill out any forms for medical clearance if the patient has not had a physical exam within the past year or if the child has never had a physical exam visit at our office.

 

Changes to any forms that have been completed and submitted are subject to an additional fee.

 

OFFICE NOTES

 

If your child's school requires an office note for any missed school day, your child must be seen by our providers. If we have documented (patient portal or after hours triage nurses) conversation from the parent/guardian during the days missed, and it is approved by the provider a note will be provided.

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MEDICAL RECORDS

 

All requests for medical records must be made in writing and signed by the patient, parent, or legal guardian. Please allow FIVE (5) business days for processing. For our patients who need to change their physician, we will provide you with your BASIC medical records free of charge. This includes the most recent physical exam, vaccination record, and growth charts. If you need more extensive records or require your ENTIRE medical record there is a fee of up to $50 per child. An additional fee may be required for the mailing of records.  

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PRESCRIPTIONS and REFILLS 

 

All prescription and refill requests must be made by the patient, and may be requested through the portal. We will not fill requests from pharmacies. At Bidabadi Pediatrics, we pride ourselves on providing excellent care to our patients. This means making a proper and accurate diagnosis prior to medicating. Antibiotics will not be called in over the phone without the patient being seen in the office.  Based on the circumstances of the request, Dr. Bidabadi may want the patient to be seen to make sure the treatment is adequate and appropriate. 

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AFTER-HOURS

 

We realize that children don’t only get sick during normal business hours. We will try our best to make sure sick children can be seen on the same day. There may be times that a patient is seen outside of normal business hours, i.e. after 5 pm, weekends, and holidays. There will be an associated fee billed to your insurance company for such visits and services. When an EMERGENCY arises after hours and you need to get in touch with our on-call service, you may call our office at 732-422-0393.

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