Your Child’s Health. Our Top Priority.
Patient Care Information
Appointments
We see our patients by appointment so we can coordinate visits with the least amount of wait time. We discourage walk-in patients but will always see your child if medically necessary. We will make every effort to see your child on time, because we know your time is as valuable as ours. Should we have an emergency and are unable to see you as scheduled, we will let you know as soon as possible so you may have the option to reschedule the appointment. As hard as we try, we cannot always predict the needed amount and/or duration of appointment times correctly. The volume and degree of illness is not always predictable. You can help us schedule the appropriate appointment time for your child by giving our staff the purpose of the visit and the specific nature of your concerns.
As a courtesy, we send reminders check-up or consultations via text message. However, you are ultimately responsible for your appointment. In situations where you do not receive a reminder for whatever reason, you remain responsible for arriving at the scheduled time. Always be sure that we have the appropriate contact number to reach you.
We offer separate sick and well entrances in our office. If you suspect your child is ill to any degree please be considerate and keep your child in the sick reception area. We ask that you limit the number of guests that accompany you and your child on an office visit.
Well Care Visits
When you plan ahead for well care visits (also called Health Maintenance visits or HMVs), you will likely be able to get the appointment time you want with the practitioner you prefer. Schedules open one year in advance and we offer patients the opportunity to book their next annual appointment at check out. Our after-school and evening visits are very sought after, please call as soon as possible for those appointments.
Sick Visits
We hold visits for same day problem-focused or sick visits each day. Same day visits will be made with one of our practitioners who has an availability that works for you. In busy times of the year (such as cold and flu season), visits may be filled up very quickly in the morning. Please call us as soon as you think your child might need to be seen so we can accommodate your schedule to the best of our ability. Appointment times allotted for acute care sick visits are shorter than routine well visits and often do not allow time for chronic complaints or multiple concerns at that time.
Chronic Conditions/Consultations
If your child has a chronic, ongoing situation, we may need to schedule a longer consultation visit. This may include chronic headaches, chronic abdominal pain, behavioral concerns, or mental health concerns. Please provide us with as much information as you can and alert us if you may need more time so the appointment can be booked appropriately.
Test Results
If you have tests ordered by or performed at our office, we will advise regarding abnormal tests once your provider has reviewed those results. Some tests may take longer than others to result. If you have questions about your test results, please feel free to contact the office. Any tests ordered by someone outside of Pediatric HealthCare should be discussed with that ordering provider.
Medical Advice Line
Our staff has been trained to handle many of your questions and will be happy to assist you. They can help you decide if your child needs to be seen in the office or if there is something you might try at home first. Our goal is to return messages within one-two hours. If your problem is more urgent than this, please refer back to the front staff/appointment schedulers to inform them of your situation. Occasionally, messages left during peak periods may be prioritized by degree of urgency. We will attempt to return all calls by the end of the day. Phone calls left after 4 pm may not be returned until the next business day.
If your question requires the attention of one of our providers, one will call you back as soon as they are available. Providers return phone calls after they finish seeing patients. If your call is urgent, we suggest you have the Medical Assistants be your liaison between the practitioner and yourself. Please remember that with non-urgent calls, the practitioner’s first priority is to the patients in the office
After Hours & Emergencies
If you believe you have a life threatening emergency, dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. When an urgent need arises after our scheduled office hours, you can reach our physicians on-call through our answering service, 248-543-5677. We always have a physician on call after regular office hours, but please be aware that this is their time home with their families. While they are available to help with any urgent matters, if it is not something urgent, please be courteous and wait to call when the office opens.
If we feel that your child needs to be evaluated after hours, we will typically recommend they proceed to one of the Corewell Health facilities. The Royal Oak and Troy facilities are the best fit for pediatric patients. You may also choose to be seen through the Pediatric After Hours Clinic at the Corewell Troy location or a local urgent care.
Vaccines Save Lives.
We are a pro-vaccination clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sets the U.S. childhood immunization schedule based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Imunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The recommended childhood immunization schedule is designed to protect infants and children early in life, when they are most vulnerable.
You can find more information on vaccines through the AAP
All new PHC patients are required to follow the recommended vaccine schedule. To view our full vaccine policy, click here:
Office Policies
Office Visits
Patients are expected to be on time for office visits. In order to keep our office running on schedule, arriving 15 minutes or later than the planned appointment time may result in the appointment being rescheduled to a later date. If you expect to be late, please alert our front staff as soon as possible.
Missed or Cancelled Appointments
We require at least 24-hours notice for all appointment cancellations. Missed appointments or appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice may be subjected to a $40 dollar missed appointment fee. Missed appointments scheduled same day will incur a fee. We offer appointment reminders as a courtesy, but you remain responsible for your appointment even if you do not receive a reminder.
Payments
Visit co-pays and account balances will be collected at the time of check-in for all office visits. Payments outside of a visit can be taken care of over the phone, in person or online. You may pay online through our Pay Your Bill button or on the Patient Portal.
Referrals
Some patients may require further evaluation with a specialist or outside facility. We will work them to help meet your child’s needs. In many cases, you will need to be evaluated by our office before seeing a specialist. It is your responsibility to know if your insurance requires a referral or prior authorization prior to seeing a specialist. You can find this information on the back of your insurance card, on the company’s website, or by calling the insurance company’s information line. If you do require a referral, you may contact our referral department once you have set up your specialty appointment.
Forms
Health Forms brought during a child’s well visit will typically be completed same day free of charge. Forms requested outside of their visit are subject to a $10 charge, per form (Expedited and extended forms may incur an additional cost). Form completion requests may be sent via email to our triage team at medquestions@phckids.com. Payment must be received prior to release of the completed form. Patient’s following with a subspecialist for their health issues who require school/camp medication forms (such as food allergy or asthma management forms) should submit those forms to the appropriate specialist for completion.
Medical Records
Your child’s records are kept with strict adherence to patient confidentiality laws. You can request copies of these records by contacting our office. Depending on the request, there may be a fee associated with the record release. Vaccine and growth records are available at no cost. If your child is seen at another facility, please provide us with a paper or digital copy of their records so that we may enter them into your child’s medical record and continue to coordinate with their health care team.