FAQs & Office Policies

To be certain that we schedule your appointment correctly, we will be asking questions about the nature of the problem or illness. This information is vital to scheduling your appointment and allocating the appropriate amount of time.

If for any reason someone besides a Parent or Legal Guardian may need to bring a child in for an appointment it is important that you have this person listed on the Family Data form.

Well-child physicals are scheduled up to six months in advance. Remember to schedule these physicals in advance. We recommend that children have their annual well-child physical during the month in which they were born. It is the responsibility of the patient (parents/guardians) to know their health plans coverage and frequency guidelines for physicals. Please be aware issues discussed and or addressed outside of the normal well-child physicals may generate a separate charge.

We do not schedule late afternoon or evening sick appointments until after 2:00 in the afternoon to assure that these appointments are available for late-day injuries and issues that arise after school hours.

If you can’t keep an appointment, please let us know 24 hours in advance of your appointment or a no-show fee of $30.00 may be charged. Call us at (585) 426-4100.

We are required by your health insurance to collect payment at the time of service.

The Health Information Portability & Accountability Act requires that we do not share the health information of any of our patients to third-party entities without written permission. This means that we can not fax forms, speak to counselors, or mail documents unless you complete, sign and list the organizations that you give us permission to share information with on our HIPAA form. HIPAA also restricts us from speaking with the parents of patients over 18 years of age unless the patient has completed and signed an Authorization Form. Other medical providers are excluded from this restriction to be sure that patients have continuity in their care.

Insurance carriers require updated paperwork; we encourage you to arrive 15 minutes early so that we may update our records. You need to bring your current insurance card and photo identification with you for every visit.

We accept many insurance plans. Please check with your insurance provider directly to determine if Genesis Pediatric physicians are listed as participating providers with your particular insurance plan.

The health insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the insurer. Health insurance does not relieve the patient and/or family of financial responsibility for services received.

It is our expectation that invoices are paid within 30 days from the statement date. Unpaid balances may be subject to an additional charge of one and ¼(1.25%) per month.

If you are late by more than 15 minutes for a scheduled appointment you may be asked to reschedule.

We are pleased to have one of our nurses available to you on the phone during normal office hours. They can assist you in determining whether or not your child needs to be seen, address basic medical questions and advise on home care strategies. Phone nurses can not discuss complicated issues, review prescription changes or diagnose medical problems. These issues are more appropriately addressed at an appointment with one of our doctors.

An appointment scheduled with a nurse for vaccines is strictly a nurse visit and does not allow time for a visit with the doctor. If you would like to speak with or have your child seen by a physician, we will gladly schedule an appropriate time.

The physicians of Genesis Pediatrics provide an after-hours on-call service which is provided for the use of our patient families in urgent or worrisome situations. This service is provided for the use of our patient families in urgent or worrisome situations. The use of this service provides fresh practitioners to be alert for after-hours needs and allows our physicians to spend uninterrupted off-hours time with their families. There is a significant cost involved for this service which is currently absorbed by the practice. Questions that are regarding non-urgent matters, medications, refills, or appointments should be reserved for the daytime hours when the office is open. Our nurses are more than willing to find the answers if they are not readily available and there are always doctors available as backup for issues requiring their expertise.

Routine prescription refills can be obtained by calling your pharmacy. They will then contact our office with the refill request. Please contact our office for refills of controlled medications (i.e. ADHD meds) or if there is a change in your child’s medication dosage. It may be necessary to schedule a visit to properly handle a medication change request.

If you are transferring your care from the practice you must complete a Request for Release of Medical Records form. If the patient is over 18 years of age the form must be signed by them. Turn around time for transfer requests is approximately 10 business days.

Some insurance companies require a referral from us for a patient to go to certain specialists. If your insurance company requires a referral please call our office and ask for the referral line. Please provide all information that is requested by voice mail.